A funeral service at Canterbury Cathedral will honour the life of a much-loved GP and father-of-three who died suddenly.

When the death of Lakshman ‘David’ Kanagasooriam was announced just before Christmas, hundreds of heartfelt tributes poured in from friends, colleagues, and patients who described him as “an outstanding doctor” and “a total saint”.

But the family of Dr Kanagasooriam, known as Dr Kana, said he would have been surprised by the outpouring.

“Dad was a very humble man - he would have been totally taken aback and probably a little embarrassed by the volume of tributes coming,” his family said. “However, it is absolutely correct that a man who spent his career saving people’s lives and making others look good is being celebrated in this way.

“We are so proud of his legacy and will miss him terribly.”

Dr Kanagasooriam was born in Sri Lanka on December 30, 1956.

But his father decided to move his family to the UK to build a new life after they were targeted for their ethnicity and had their home taken over by the state during troubles in the country.

He was just 11 when they made the long journey to England. As they were allowed to bring no more than £50 with them, and after losing all their belongings during the voyage, they arrived in Kent with next to nothing.

The Kanagasooriam family first found their home in Maidstone, where Lakshman gained entry to Maidstone Grammar School. He showed great promise as a scholar, and despite English being his second language, he soon took a full set of O-levels, including Latin, Greek and French.

After studying medicine at Imperial College London, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father John Kanagasooriam, who had set up as a GP in Kent. He moved to the village of Nonington, and became engaged to Angeline - who would be his wife of 34 years and mother to their three children Jonathan, James and Evangeline.

After working as a doctor in Aylesham, he joined Whitstable Medical Practice, where he worked for the remainder of his life. He became senior partner, and was central to the pioneering work at Estuary View Medical Centre in Boorman Way.

Outside of work, he was a keen gardener, lover of jazz music and was involved with a number of charities based in both the UK and Sri Lanka. He was also deeply religious and served, along with his wife, as steward of Canterbury Cathedral every Sunday for almost 20 years.

“He was a funny man, who always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye,” said his son, Jonathan. “A practical joker with a surreal sense of humour.

“He wore his intelligence very lightly. He was an extremely humble, quiet and hard-working public servant.”

Dr Kanagasooriam died on December 19, at the age of 61, following a sudden collapse.

His mentor Dr John Turner is among hundreds who have paid tribute, saying: “He was always a very kind, compassionate, hard-working doctor to his patients - and always went beyond the call of duty on their behalf.”

Family friend and former Canterbury MP Sir Julian Brazier said: “A truly exceptional doctor and a dear friend. His medicine was grounded in cutting-edge medical practices and a profound Christian faith. Kent has lost a remarkable doctor.”

His funeral is to be held at 11.30am tomorrow (Friday). The service is open to anyone.