John Tymukas obituary

"My brother-in-law John Tymukas, who has died aged 73, was a structural engineer on many of London's infrastructure projects from the 1990s onwards, including Canning Town station, Heathrow Terminal 5, Glaxo Smithkline HQ and Crossrail Bond Street. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, John was the son of Kostas, a Lithuanian refugee and engineer, and Kathleen (nee Donohoe), the daughter of Irish emigrants and a former clerk."

"John completed his education in Brisbane at Downlands school and the Queensland Institute of Technology, where he took a four-year engineering degree course and worked in Australia before heading in 1990 to London to work on contracts with engineering companies such as SKB and WSP. An avid traveller, he covered Europe extensively, making contact with Lithuanian and Irish family members and discovering family history unknown in Australia until he made the links."

"As a result of his travels John developed an extensive network of colleagues and friends across Europe, many sharing his love for sport and fitness, which he developed through Dulwich Paragon cycling club and Dulwich running club, where he helped others with their training programmes. He participated in many marathons under the three-hour mark, including the 1993 London marathon, in which he finished in the top 1,000 runners."

John Tymukas was born in Adelaide, the eldest of six children of Kostas, a Lithuanian refugee and engineer, and Kathleen (nee Donohoe). He completed an engineering degree at the Queensland Institute of Technology and worked in Australia before moving to London in 1990. He contributed to major infrastructure projects including Canning Town station, Heathrow Terminal 5, Glaxo Smithkline HQ and Crossrail Bond Street while working with firms such as SKB and WSP. He travelled widely across Europe, reconnected with Lithuanian and Irish relatives, and developed a broad professional network. An avid cyclist and runner, he helped train others and ran many sub-three-hour marathons, including a top-1,000 finish in the 1993 London Marathon. He retired before the Covid lockdown, suffered a stroke in 2020, returned to Adelaide for care, and is survived by five siblings, 14 nieces and nephews, and eight great-nieces and great-nephews.

Read at www.theguardian.com