A former Dubbo doctor known for his love of horses has died suddenly while tending to one on his property near Inverell. A funeral will be held in Inverell's Catholic church this morning for consultant physician in internal medicine Dr John Gibson who worked in Dubbo for about 25 years. Dubbo's Dr David Hammill, who in the mid-1970s invited Dr Gibson to the city to share premises, has travelled to the town in the north west of the State to deliver a short eulogy on his friend. Yesterday, from the Brisbane Street building where the two specialists ran separate practices, Dr Hammill recalled a "hard-working" colleague "dedicated to medicine" and "very interested in the general wellbeing of his patients", half of whom travelled to Dubbo from other parts of the region. His outreach work in places like Mudgee and Walgett also made the specialist well regarded this side of the sandstone curtain. "He viewed his job as more than just looking at the heart," Dr Hammill said. The "cheerful" medico ran a rural property and his Dubbo practice concurrently. Raised in the metropolis, Dr Gibson came to love the land after schoolboy trips out west and a short stint working in Dubbo prior to his quarter-of-a-century stay in the city on the western plains. His "great love" of horses saw him become a familiar face in equine circles and he enjoyed competitive camp drafting. At the other end of the spectrum, Dr Gibson's "fine tenor voice", inherited from his Scottish father, was a hit at hospital revues. Dr Hammill said Dr Gibson opted for "semi-retirement" and a move to a property at Bundarra, south-west of Inverell, in late 2000. He worked at Armidale hospital before "more recently" providing his expertise at a clinic at Inverell hospital. Dr Gibson was 65 years of age when he died last week on his property "tending his horse after finishing work" for the day. The respected practitioner is survived by wife Penny and four children from his first marriage to Caryl, brother Allan from Dubbo and sister Sr Anne from Hunter's Hill.