Aaron Leech was a devoted husband and fun-loving father of two who "made it his mission to make people's days brighter".
The Royal Australian Air Force Sergeant was riding his motorbike home after meeting his wife during her work lunch break at Thornton in March, when his Ducati crashed into a car that turned in front of him while making an illegal u-turn.
Mr Leech, an experienced motorcycle rider, died at the scene.
The driver of the car, 71-year-old Cheryl Anne Bramley, was on Wednesday sentenced to a two-year community corrections order in Raymond Terrace Local Court.
Mr Leech's wife Kristy read a victim impact statement to the court before Ms Bramley was sentenced.
She said her husband was a "highly positive and motivating" man, who was a distinguished member of the RAAF - and who had served multiple tours overseas.
Mrs Leech told the court of the "immense grief" her two children continued to deal with, as well as the depression, post traumatic stress disorder and "crippling flashbacks" she suffered on an ongoing basis.
"Your selfish decision to save yourself time has put me in a position where I had to bury my husband," she said.
"The sparkle in our family is never ever coming home again. You have put me in the position of having to raise our children alone.
"If you didn't take the life of my husband that day, you would have taken the life of someone else."
According to an agreed statement of facts, Bramley was on her way home from a day surgery procedure when she turned on her indicator, slowed and performed an illegal u-turn on Glenwood Drive just before 2.30pm on March 22.
As she turned, her Mitsubishi hatchback and Mr Leech's Ducati collided, killing the 38-year-old rider.
Bramley was charged with one count of negligent driving occasioning death.
Mark Ramsland, who represented Bramley, said in court on Wednesday his client felt "sincere sorrow".
Magistrate Justin Peach said this kind of offence was "particularly difficult" for the courts to deal with and was a reminder that anything short of vigilance behind the wheel could have "catastrophic" consequences.
The 71-year-old, who received a 25 per cent discount on her sentence for an early guilty plea, was also suspended from driving for two years.
Magistrate Peach said no sentence would alleviate the impact of the crash on Mr Leech's family, and no punishment would change the fact that the consequences of Bramley's actions that day would stay with her forever.
