Luke asked me several months ago to speak for
him at his funeral. I asked him if he was sure because he had others in his
life that had known him longer if not his whole life. He gave me that typical
Luke cockeyed expression and said “You are my Best Friend, You take care of me
and I asked you—Yes or No!"
So I stood before those there to celebrate my
Best Friend’s Life, honored to have had the privilege of knowing such a
remarkable young man. Blessed to have had him in my life and to call him my true Best Friend.
I struggled from that day to the day of the
funeral on how to make Luke proud that he asked me to speak. How do you
summarize a person’s life and really get across just who that person was. Each
of us had our own unique perspective of who Luke Allen Henry was and what he
meant to each one of us.
Luke was a son to Sarah and Butch. A brother to Brian, a brother in law to
Melissa, husband to Joyce, brother in law to Rob, son in law to William and
Levena. He was an uncle, he was a colleague, and he was a friend. The number one thing that Luke Henry was and
I got to see this first hand so many times was he was a DAD to Michael and
Katelyn.
Luke was a kid from Paducah, who was afraid of
storms and took refuge till Sarah came in from work at Marilyn Stewart’s home.
Luke was a member of the Boys’ Choir; he had a
beautiful voice from a young age. He befriended and showed kindness to a young
boy named Glen. He toured Europe with the choir and even brought small gifts
back for so many including his teachers at the church.
As young professional designing books at Turner
Publishing, he was brilliant at problem
solving, and tormented Ina Morse with practical jokes at her expense. She told
me that the one great memory she had of Luke was when he came to work one day
and quietly told her he had met a girl... He told Ina how sweet and nice she
was and how much he liked being with her. Ina said just by the tone of his
voice and facial expressions, she knew he was already hooked on this girl named
Joyce.
Luke had a quick wit and quirky sense of humor.
This was one of the first things that I realized and from talking to his
longtime friends he had this from an early age. Ina, Michelle, Joellyn and
Glen, just to name a few all said when you were with Luke you were sure to
laugh and sometimes at your own expense but always in a good natured way. I can
attest to that as well.
Luke had a way with people although he
described himself to me as a loner. He said that was why he went into computers
and IT so he could work alone and at his pace.
After his Diagnosis, I saw all this support for
him on his Facebook page, I told him you may see yourself as a loner but you
are one loner that has touched a lot of souls. You have this vast support
system whether you realize it or not.
Let me explain how Luke and I met and you will
see what type of person he was. I teach line dancing as a way for me to
exercise and relax. I had been trying get a contract with City of Clarksville.
I decided I was going to canvas the Parks and Rec department till I got the
right person. I thought okay anyone one with city id badge was my target this
one day. Luke was coming out of the Parks and Rec building. I spotted ID and
swooped in. Introduced myself, gave him my card and started my spill. He was
very polite said he was in IT department and was not sure who I should speak
too...
I thought okay, nice man but waste of my time.
I got nothing but I told him you have my card with my phone and email, if you
think of a name let me know. So I went into the P and R and was told the Lady I
needed to see was on vacation to come back. The following week, I was back at
city and the first person I saw as I got out of my van was Luke Henry.
Now I remembered his name because he was the
first Luke I had ever truly met. I struck up another conversation, expressed my
frustration with trying to get into see the right person with City. He might
have thought I was stalking him because he was walking to his car and I just
kept walking with him and chatting. Into the P & R building this time lady
was in budget meeting.
A Week later I got a call to come in to discuss
possibility of a class. The week after that I signed a contract, as I was
signing the contract and Melissa stated that Luke Henry from IT had put in a
good word on my behalf.
I got back to my office and sent Luke an email
thanking him for putting a good word in for me.
That it was greatly appreciated especially since he really only met me a
couple times. His response, "I figured you were a nice guy and was trying
hard to get yourself established. No big deal."
Luke did not know just how big a deal this
contract was to me... we kept in touch via email and our friendship just grew
from that point on.
Luke became more than a friend to me. I called
him my Little Bro. He was funny, a great sense of humor and a big heart. We
simply clicked in so many ways.
Luke was a man of faith and he renewed my
faith, just watching how he handled his diagnosis. He was at peace with the
diagnosis and eventual outcome from the beginning.
Now I have been a nurse for over 31 years, I
have worked in Hospice, long term disability and many other arenas. I never met
a young man so at peace. To tell you the
truth it frustrated me to no end. I
wanted to scream, be angry, cry and yet Luke simply said God had told him as he
sat at his favorite place on earth (Morton's overlook in the Smokey Mountains)
“to Prepare” and that was what he planned to do.
He started calling me His Bulldog because if he
mentioned something he needed or wanted to do for the kids or himself, I made
it happen.
I organized his FB supporters into Luke’s
Angels so as a group we could assist Luke with whatever he wanted to do with
the kids or for himself.
Luke wanted to take Michael on his first
airplane ride and he did
Luke wanted to take Katelyn to have an American
Girl Experience and He did
Luke wanted a tattoo, he designed it and he got
it with my encouragement. That night I almost lost Best Friend Status, I got
two tattoos that night and he said I made it look so easy and not painful. I
got the Luke Look for couple hours while he was getting his done.
Luke wanted to go tandem Hang gliding and I
agreed to do it with him. I found the perfect place near Chattanooga, you could
go 1500 feet or 3000 feet. I told Luke if we were doing it and I was being
attached to a Big Kite then it was the 3000 foot flight. It was the most amazing experience and a
fantastic weekend for us to share.
He started living by a quote that he had put in
his tattoo design. He later learned it
was from Mohammed Ali. “Don’t Count the Days Make the Days Count”. Luke did
just that he made every day count especially for Katelyn and Michael.
Luke Henry 5/14/69-I have quoted that statement
what seems like a hundred times for Luke over the past few months. That name
and date are for every ingrained in my soul.
So much so that I recently went to an appointment for myself on the
medical form for date of birth I instantly wrote 5/14/69. I had to really think
hard to remember my own DOB.
Luke A Henry, man of faith, son, brother,
husband, Dad, Best Friend. We will always have you in our hearts and know you
will always be watching over us here. We will miss you and Love you my
friend...
keep dancin' Larry B
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