Tom Lucas has passed away
3 min read
From the Facebook page of Tom Lucas,
A message to Tom’s friends and fans from his Daughter’s, Stephanie & Miranda đź’™
Tom Lucas, “The Luker”
Oct 10, 1949 – Oct 3, 2023
With immense sadness, we announce the news that our father, Tom Lucas, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on October 3rd.
Born in Montreal in 1949, Dad spent his formative years honing his love of music and radio in Vancouver. He met the love of his life Margaret Brown at Lord Byng Secondary. They were inseparable until Maggie’s passing in 2015.
He befriended his idol Red Robinson and with his encouragement, Alan landed his first on-air gig in Duncan at CKAY in 1968. Management insisted Tom change his name and “Tom Lucas” was born.
Tom and Maggie moved to Hamilton the day after they married in August 1971 where Tom joined CKOC. Daughter Stephanie (Wayne) was born in 1972. After stints at CFGO in Ottawa and CJKL in Kirkland Lake, Tom returned to Vancouver, where he landed his dream job at CFUN.
In 1976, daughter Miranda (Dave) was born. Luker’s on-air persona was backed by his attention to detail. He was the King of The Airwaves who always hit “the post” and “the fade”, and never “walked over” the intro to a song. One of his prized possessions was his solid gold “CFUN No.1” ring.
During the 70’s and 80’s, The Luker could be seen around town hosting sock hops, fashion shows, Miss Teen Vancouver pageants and on-location remotes. Tom joined the CKVU-TV Vancouver Show as a weatherman and hosted his TGIF segment. He later joined Red Robinson and other local talent co-hosting Timmy’s Telethons.
One of our favorite memories was seeing Dad MC outdoor concerts at Expo ’86. We were the kids with the cool Dad, the “The DJ’s Girls”. In the 90’s, Dad’s lifelong passion for wrestling found him in the ring announcing World Wrestling Federation shows when they came to Vancouver. He later worked at CHRX, CKWX, CJJR and developed his Canada wide “Saturday Night Gold Line Request Show” on the Satellite Radio Network.
He was honored to MC Red Robinson’s retirement party at the Commodore Ballroom in 2001 and was later thrilled to take over the mic of the morning show at CISL. He developed the Radio Real Estate Show late in his career, showcasing local realtors and experts in mortgages and investments.
Off air, Tom was a proud Grandfather to Addison and to our pets, Spencer, Ozzie, Dexter, Taz & Sitka. He loved airplanes, trolley buses, the Dodgers and all things Motown.
We imagine he’s perpetually walking Kits Beach at sunset with Mom and Jessie, their beloved Shih Tzu.
At Tom’s request, there will be no funeral or celebration of life. If you would like to honor him, please treat yourself to a Tim Hortons Iced Capp, and toast him as you sing along to your favourite golden oldie.
We love you Dad, “more than all of the entire blades of grass in the entire world”. Your sign off song and closing words after every radio shift ring true then, now and forever.
“Thank Ya Bye” over the pounding intro of The Spinners’ classic “I’ll Be Around”.
Thank you for sharing the sad news that our Dad, “The Luker” passed away.
Loved Tom, I worked with Tom at CFUN in 1981-82 and we had a grand time. I was in the sales department and Tom sat next to me after he decided to transition briefly from on-air to sales. On air was always his love, he knew the golden oldies! Always loved listening! Always positive and up, he was the greatest!