The Wimmera is mourning the loss of sporting and community icon Michael "Mick" Farrell.
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Mr Farrell died on Tuesday, December 3, aged 67.
Mr Farrell is survived by wife Heather, children and children-in-law Glenn, Megan, Chris, Laura, Craig and Melissa, and grandchildren Indi, Harper, Caleb, Cooper and Grace.
A funeral for Mr Farrell will be held at the Catholic Church of St Michael and St John in Horsham on Monday, December 16.
Mr Farrell's wife Heather said her husband would be remembered as a "gentle giant" with a big heart.
Mr Farrell moved to Horsham as a teenager after growing up on a small dairy farm near Casterton, and met Mrs Farrell in 1970.
Mrs Farrell said football, cricket and camping were some of Mr Farrell's greatest passions in life.
"Mick loved cricket and football, but he has had a go at just about everything, from darts to tenpin bowling," Mrs Farrell said.
He was inducted into the Horsham Cricket Association's Hall of Fame in 2017 for his decades of service, mainly with Colts and the Jung Tigers. He also regularly represented the association at Country Week, scoring many a century as an opening batsman.
On the football field, Mr Farrell co-coached Quantong to a premiership in the Horsham District football league in 1976, and played in a second in 1977.
He played for Homers, Murtoa, Wonwondah, Quantong, College, Natimuk and Pimpinio, and played his final game of competitive football at the age of 51.
"He moved clubs quite often just to help out. He often went to the team that was in a worse position, just because he wanted to help," Mrs Farrell said.
"That was the type of bloke he was."
Mr Farrell also started coaching softball after his daughter Megan took a passion for the sport.
It led Mr Farrell to be president of the local softball association for more than a decade, and to hold a place on the board of Softball Victoria for several years.
"He didn't know much about (the sport), but he ended up being a really highly qualified coach specialising in pitching and catching," Heather said.
"It just shows ... he was always the first one to give somebody a hand when they needed it.
"I just keep thinking of more and more great things that he's done."
Mr Farrell's long time Colts teammate Dean Arnott said he would be sadly missed.
"I've had a lot of special times with Mick," Mr Arnott said.
"He was a great bloke, a quality opening batsman and very knowledgeable about the game of cricket. He was one of the elite cricketers in the association.
"He was a fantastic guy that always had a care for our club. He passed on a great deal of knowledge to our members."
Horsham Cricket Association secretary Darren Chesterfield said Mr Farrell was a passionate and patient person, more than deserving of his Hall of Fame recognition.
Mr Farrell's Jung teammate Frank Marklew said he was a fantastic mentor.
"He got along with everyone and he was just one of those guys that loved to help everyone he could," Mr Marklew said.
"Everytime his name was mentioned, everyone knew who Mick Farrell was.
"It's a bit loss to cricket in the region, and the sporting community in general. It's hard to lose someone so knowledgeable about the game and about the history in the region."
Mrs Farrell said her husband never lost his fighting spirit, despite suffering serious illness in his last days.
"He spent the last 155 days in St Vincent's hospital in Melbourne, and he had literally everything thrown at him. The first time I actually saw a glimmer of a tear in the eye was on day 102," Mrs Farrell said.
"One of the nurses said - 'I've never seen someone with the determination that Mick's got'.
"It has always stuck in my mind that this nurse was so impressed with Mick's will to live, his will to win. It was the same thing on the sporting field.
"In everyday life he was pretty laid back, but when he saw a cause that needed to be fought for, he would step up."
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