A Woonona father of four was shot and killed in a senseless act that allegedly started when he asked his neighbour to turn down loud music.Stephen Holmes, 41, was Helensburgh born and bred, a local son who loved his surf, his footy and most of all his family.Wife Angela said he had only just celebrated his appointment as deputy mine manager at Helensburgh Coal after more than two years of study and hard work."It was all for us. He wanted to give his family a better life," she said.On Saturday night, the family's world was shattered when Mr Holmes died after being shot in the chest on a neighbour's front lawn.The incident started about 9pm when Mr Holmes became concerned about the loud music coming from the home of a neighbour, who lived diagonally across the road in Lassiter Ave."There was loud music and his two youngest children couldn't sleep," a friend of the family said."He went out and asked the neighbour to turn the music down and then returned to the house."But the bloke stood outside on his front lawn and kept yelling out, `Come out here, you dog'."Angela went to the phone and called the police and it was while she was on the phone she heard a gunshot."Tragically, two of Mr Holmes' daughters, 16-year-old Samantha and five-year-old Juanita, were also out on the lawn."Samantha ran to her father's side and lay down beside him," the friend said.Neighbours cared for Mr Holmes until police and ambulance arrived, but he died shortly after.Mrs Holmes said yesterday the world had lost a decent, loving man."He was the best. He was a man of many jokes, the life of the party. Very outgoing," she said."He loved his footy. He was a fan of the Northern Suburbs Bulldogs (Rugby League Club) after playing with them for many years."Mr Holmes also enjoyed a surf, although his recreational time had been curtailed in recent years due to his employment with Helensburgh Coal, where he had worked for the past decade."He was very highly regarded at work. I spoke to his boss this morning," Mrs Holmes said. "It is just something that is so difficult to believe. You look at my street, it's full of children and elderly people, I just don't understand."A family friend described Mr Holmes as "a softy". Neighbours also paid tribute, describing him as a great bloke."He was a nice neighbour and a very good family man," one said.Residents said that the alleged offender was believed to have spent time in jail."Most times he kept to himself. He had a few problems. He wasn't a bad bloke when he was sober," a neighbour said.Yesterday the place where Mr Holmes died was marked by a small posy of flowers and a drawing by Juanita. His children also included 15-year-old Shani and two-year-old Ayla.The police dog squad was called in to assist the search for the offender, together with the Polair helicopter which circled the region's northern suburbs for several hours.By the afternoon the search had shifted to the Central Coast where police found a red Nissan Pulsar hatchback in the Mt White area, near Gosford, believed to belong to a man wanted in relation to Saturday night's incident.He was described as being of white, European appearance, about 60 years old and 175cm tall with a medium build, white thinning hair and tattoos on his left forearm.Any person who can assist police with their investigation is asked to contact Wollongong Police on 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.