‘We weren’t expecting it’: Port Lincoln Olympic star mum Ann Lukin dies at 84
A well-known Port Lincoln tuna identity and mum of a favourite Olympic gold medallist has died.
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A celebrated Port Lincoln tuna identity and mum of a favourite Olympic gold medallist has passed away in Adelaide.
Ann Lukin, whose weightlifting son Dean Lukin won the super-heavyweight division at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, died unexpectedly on Wednesday.
The 84-year-old was credited, along with her former husband, the late Dinko Lukin, with pioneering tuna farming on the Eyre Peninsula; towing wild southern bluefin tuna in cages into Boston Bay, keeping them alive in pens and feeding and fattening them for the lucrative Japanese market.
Grandson Dean Lukin Jr warmly praised his Grandmother noting her community work.
“My Grandmother was an amazing individual who was the most honourable, ethical, loving person I have ever met,” he said.
“She was by far the biggest influence on my life and she can never be replaced.
“She has kept our family together through many challenges and now we are all devastated.
“Just before Covid my Grandmother was told she had days to live. My Dad embarked on a journey that included alternative methods which provided an extra four years of life.
“My Dad told me that keeping my Grandmother alive was a bigger achievement than winning at the Olympics.
“Last November I spent two weeks with her, it was an amazing time, and I am grateful I had that experience. At that time, I was engaged, and I distinctly remember telling Kristina who I was engaged to that she was the most special human in my life and if I introduce you to my Grandmother you mean everything to me.
“I am thankful that I had the opportunity to share that time with her.
“Her contribution to Port Lincoln was large and she was the person behind everything in our family.”
Michael Margaritis, who is married to her granddaughter Katrina Lukin, said the family was in shock.
“We weren’t expecting it, it was pretty sudden,” he said on Friday.
“On Wednesday morning she went to hospital, on Wednesday night she sadly passed away … it took us all by surprise really.”
He said Mrs Lukin had relocated to Glenelg about six months ago, to be closer to her family in Adelaide and had “enjoyed life right to the end.”
“She loved her family, her two sons especially – Dean and brother David – and all her grandkids and great-grandkids … she also loved her great-grandchildren Malia and Alexis,” Mr Margaritis said.
“She was very generous and would give anything to anyone … she was loved by everyone.
“She was a very proud woman and pleased with what she had done in her life, including her involvement for many years in the tuna industry in Port Lincoln.”
Mr Margaritis said the beloved mum, grandmother and great-grandmother loved to talk about Dean’s Olympic success, including how he carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremony in LA.
As well as Los Angeles, the SA weightlifter also won gold medals at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and Edinburgh respectively.
“She talked about Dean and what he had achieved with his gold medal,” Mr Margaritis said.
Mrs Lukin was born on March 30, 1940, moving with her former husband to Port Lincoln.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalised.
Dinko Lukin, who was born in Croatia and moved to Australia in 1956, died in 2011 aged 75, leaving his estate, estimated to be worth $18.6 million at the time of probate, to his second wife Lukina Lukin.
His grandson Dean Lukin junior later questioned the will in court.
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Originally published as ‘We weren’t expecting it’: Port Lincoln Olympic star mum Ann Lukin dies at 84
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