The wife of former Birmingham marketing director Dave Hodgson, who died from cancer on New Year’s Eve, has paid tribute to the “soul mate” who knew her like no other.

Natalie Hodgson said her husband bravely “smiled his way” through the final stages of his illness and took huge comfort in sharing his plight with followers on the social networking site Twitter.

The avid Wigan Athletic fan’s final tweet – one of more than 20,000 – was typical of the prolific communicator. Two days before his death in a Dubai hospital, he wanted to know about the Latics’ New Year’s Eve fixture. He wrote: “What time? v Stoke?”

Mr Hodgson died at 9.50pm Dubai time – less than an hour after the final whistle at Stoke’s Britannia Stadium, where Wigan snatched a late draw.

The 41-year-old, a former marketing director at Marketing Birmingham, was diagnosed with skin cancer in January 2010, just before he moved to Dubai with Natalie and daughter Olivia, who is now seven.

He later took over the role of director of corporate communications at Meydan race course, famous for the Dubai World Cup.

Mr Hodgson had metastatic melanoma, a relatively rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, and was given a year to live last July.

He embarked on a revolutionary form of immunotherapy treatment in Chicago which he hoped would buy him time – or “life credits,” as he called them.

However, his condition deteriorated rapidly as Christmas approached. He had had tumours in his armpit, small intestine and liver but lived long enough to say goodbye to his closest friends, who flew to Dubai to see him.

Mr Hodgson married Natalie, 30, at St John the Baptist Church in Aston Cantlow, Warwickshire, last April. A funeral service will he held there at midday on Saturday, January 14.

In keeping with Mr Hodgson’s request, mourners have been asked not to wear black.

In an interview with the Birmingham Post last month, Mr Hodgson said: “Anybody who wears black can get out. There’s no black at my funeral.”

Mrs Hodgson said her husband, who she met in Birmingham, was the love of her life.

She said: “The happiest day of my life was when I stood next to him in the church and said ‘I do.’

“Dave was my soul mate. We understood each other like no one else and often said the same things at the same time.

“We enjoyed so many highs together, the big one being the wedding, which was perfect, intimate and fun.

“Dave loved fun. He was always looking for the next adventure and the biggest adventure took us to Dubai.”

Mrs Hodgson said her husband inspired many people, including work colleagues, friends and other cancer sufferers. He built up a network of Twitter friends throughout the world, many of whom he never met.

She said: “He smiled his way through the last six months and took great strength from all his friends and family around him. People he met on Twitter became a source of comfort and therapy.

“He was amazing with Olivia and he always did the English homework with her. That was his thing.

“He encouraged her in everything and gave her chances to experience new opportunities in life, taking her to ice skating lessons, swimming lessons, gymnastic classes and arranging riding lessons for her.

“They would sit on the sofa with Honey, our rescue dog, and play on the iPad, building Smurf village or watching a film.