A LONG-SERVING volunteer driver for a local charity has died after a short battle with cancer.
Peter Gasser, a former driver with Hillingdon Community Transport, passed away on October 28 with his wife, Ann, at his bedside, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August. He would have turned 66 this month.
Mr Gasser lived with his wife, Ann, in Harlington Road, Hillingdon. He had six children from a previous marriage.
Peter proposed to Ann, his partner of nine years, after learning of his terminal condition, and the couple wed at a low-key ceremony at Uxbridge Registry Office on October 7.
Mrs Gasser, who met her husband whilst working at Michael Shersby House sheltered housing in Hoover Close, Hillingdon, said: "He was brilliant throughout his illness, so brave, and he never once complained about it.
"No matter what, he always had the same temperament, always laughing and joking with everyone."
Mr Gasser, an avid steam train and canal-boating enthusiast, was a fast response driver at Hillingdon Hospital before joining Hillingdon Community Transport in 1999.
The charity serves dozens of community groups, taking people with mobility problems on day trips, special excursions, and shopping runs.
John Reid, Manager at Hillingdon Community Transport, said: "It takes a unique type of person to be a volunteer, and Peter was one of those people. He really got a lot out of it.
"We are like a family here, and we have lost an important part of the team."
Mrs Gasser added: "He was so passionate about his work.
"He never liked to let anyone down and was always willing to step in and help whenever he could, no matter what time of day.
He was very popular. The phone hasn't stopped ringing, and everyone is just devastated."
Peter's funeral is taking place at Breakspear Crematorium, in Breakspear Road, Ruislip, next Wednesday (November 16) at 12 noon. His body will be transported to the service in a Hillingdon Community Transport bus.
