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Elaine said she had found comfort in knowing that Derby was mourning her monumental loss with her.

“Anywhere you went in Derbyshire we would run into, at the very least, three people who knew him and wanted a natter,” the 56-yearold said.

“I consider myself honoured indeed to have had the love of such a well-loved man. It is some comfort to have the city mourn with me.

“Pip and I used to be pals in the punk days, but only got together in 2010, marrying on the hottest October 1 ever in 2011. We loved each other deeply.”

Pip, a keen cricketer and darts player, was born in Newcastleunder-Lyme and moved to Derby with his adoptive parents when he was young.

He attended Bemrose Grammar School for Boys, where he was described by his former head teacher as the brightest boy she ever taught.

And when he was not travelling the country following Derby County, punk bands and windmills, he was seeking new pubs to try out.

He was the editor of Derby’s real ale newsletter, the Derby Drinker, for 11 years.

Elaine continued: “One person said to me recently, ‘We didn’t have Google in those days, we had Pip.’

“He had moved to York to be with me, but circumstances led us back to Derby.

“We lived in the house he had grown up in, making it our own.

“Pip loved every second of working for The Free. He was ecstatic when we got given new photos to use and worked hard to give as good, accurate and interesting account as was possible.

“He was equally as passionate about writing his weekly quiz, Dr Pippen’s Paradoxical Perlustrations, an unusual and immensely popular quiz that, with his wit and lightning-quick humour, was more a performance than a quiz.

“The outpouring of love, grief and shock on social media is a testament to this wonderful, kind and intelligent man.”

Pip was also renowned as a meticulous proofreader when he worked for former Derby Telegraph columnist Anton Rippon at

Anton’s publishing Breedon Books.

Anton said: “Pip worked for me at Breedon Books in the early 1990s and we soon became close friends. He had an easy charm and one always felt good to be around him.

“He was intelligent, worldly, knowledgeable – although I once panicked when I saw that he had got hold of a tube of super glue – he was a bit accident-prone at times. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body and he was a great champion of Derby. I shall miss him terribly.”

A fund-raiser has been set up for Pip’s funeral. Anyone interested in donating can visit justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/forpip company,