Stefan Laing remembers his father, Duncan Laing, as a "tough old bugger" with "a huge heart".
A generous man, Laing's tendency to take people under his wing meant the family had to share the respected swimming coach with the wider public, his son said.
"Yes, there were six kids, but there are at least six thousand others," Stefan said.
"He was a tough old bugger, but he had a huge heart for people. Sure, he was a swimming coach, but he was a father figure to a heck of a lot of people."
For Stefan and his siblings, Duncan, Denise, Lauren, Warwick and Graeme, it meant grabbing time with their dad when they could.
"He was always willing to back us in whatever we took on. Of course, his time was limited . . . so he'd often be asking how we went rather than coming to watch. That was just the way it was."
The family will hold a public commemorative service at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Wednesday at 1pm. It has not been confirmed who will speak but Stefan said double gold medallist Danyon Loader was likely to appear.
The family was expecting to hear from Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin today regarding any plans the Dunedin City Council had for its own commemorations. Contacted last night, Mr Chin said the council would respect the family's wishes.
"We will do whatever we need to do to acknowledge Duncan's role to swimming and to the city, and to remember the dignity of the man as a person. His contribution to swimming and the honour he has brought to Dunedin is huge. He put Dunedin on the swimming map."
A council forum scheduled for 2pm on Wednesday might be postponed, Mr Chin said. He said he would be at the service and expected many other councillors would attend, too.
"From the email traffic there has been today, most want to attend. Most councillors - particularly the long-serving ones - have had some connection with Duncan over the years."
