The much loved former councillor and community member passed away age 88 on Sunday, July 19.

Mr Dohnt approached any task with an abundance of positivity, and both he and his departed wife Beres gave much of their lives to those around them, according to their son John.

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"For 40 odd years, for their entire married life that they were together, they were working with each other, side by side the whole time," John said.

"They were a team in everything, they were very close, it was incredibly difficult for dad when mum passed away."

Wether at the driving school where many of Dubbo's prospective drivers learnt how to control a car under Bal Dohnt's tutelage or at the rotary meetings where Bal and Beres had become main-stays, the worked in tandem to deliver better results for the people around them.

Tragic circumstances early in Bal's life encouraged a generous, community driven outlook during his later years.

"It was the way he was, he was brought up on a farm in Eumungerie and his mother died when he was only six years old, they struggled a lot and received a lot of help from their community," John said.

"That left an impression, I'm sure."

Bal's generous nature was further honed as an apprentice in the RAAF, where he learned his first trade and wold later serve for six months in the Korean war.

Closer to home, in Dubbo, Bal became a relentless advocate for road safety, spending many years of his live as a driving instructor, and advocating for changes to Dubbo's roads.

"It's nice knowing that you can drive down the main street and see things like the trees or the bypass and think, 'that was dad's doing'," John said.

Bal's passion would even see him cross international waters, at one time travelling to Fiji on invitation from the government there to devise a school road safety training system as part of his work through Rotary.

"He always had something to do with whatever organisations wanted to improve or help, he was always looking at trying to help and improve what was around him," John said.

Bal Dohnt is survived by his and Beres' children Wendy, Roger and John and their grandchildren.

"He did love his fishing too, and he always dreamed of going back up to the Snowy Mountains area and spending some time getting to fish up there, so we'll send some of his ashes up that way."