"We wanted to keep his ashes with us until we got some finality," Mrs Bartley said. "At least we know someone has been held accountable."

Police announced on Monday they had charged an inmate of Wellington Correctional Centre in relation to the incident that took Mr Farrell's life.

Mr Farrell was crossing Stedman Street in Mayfield on his way to a hair cut on November 24, 2017, when he was struck by an SUV.

The driver did not stop, and Mr Farrell died at John Hunter Hospital from his injuries three days later.

Officers from Newcastle City Local Area Command charged a 25-year-old man on Monday with dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop and render assistance causing death.

He was refused bail and will appear in Dubbo Local Court on Tuesday.

Mrs Bartley, also of Mayfield West, said she was "very, very relieved" to hear the news on Monday afternoon.

"We were in correspondence back and forwards with police. They had a lot of things to discount along the way to make sure the charges stick," she said.

"The wheels of justice turn slowly, as they say."

Mrs Bartley described her father as "tough" and "generous to a fault".

He was a former airman in the Royal Australian Air Force and the father of two children: Mrs Bartley and her brother Gregory Farrell.

He was also the grandfather of Mrs Bartley's 21-year-old daughter Grace.

Mrs Bartley, her daughter and Mr Farrell all lived together in the five years preceding his death.

"He was a permanent fixture in our everyday lives," Mrs Bartley said.

"He was still quite healthy and liked to go for walks. Unfortunately, that was part of what led to his death."

The 62-year-old said that after two years of waiting for closure, all she could hope for now was a successful result in court.

She had made a public appeal for the SUV driver to come forward in 2018, four months after her father's death, when police launched a strike force to investigate the incident. All she received was silence.

"I just want to look the man in the face," Mrs Bartley said. "What kind of person does that?"

She said that Mr Farrell could now finally be buried according to his wishes: alongside his wife, Joan, who passed away 29 years ago.

"Mum and Dad both wanted to be put together with Dad's father. So that's what we shall do," Mrs Bartley said.

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