Christopher Lynn Hooke, Jr.

Christopher Lynn Hooke, Jr., 26, died on July 5th, 2025 at Duke Hospital in Durham, NC, with his parents and sisters at his side. Chris was the most compassionate, generous, and caring grandson, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend anyone could ever know, and he was a fighter to the very end.

Chris packed a tremendous amount of life in his 26 years. Born February 18th,1999, and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of one, Chris’ thoughtful, passionate and determined spirit was apparent early on. He was an active BounceBack Kids and Victory Junction participant, and he competed in multiple Iron Kids triathlons. As an elementary student, he traveled to Washington, D.C. with the Arthritis Foundation to lobby for funding for Juvenile Arthritis research and was later honored at the Arthritis Walk for his advocacy. Chris was active in scouting, a member of the Order of the Arrow, a leader at Camp Durant, and an Eagle Scout. He embraced new experiences and opportunities, whether that meant going on a two week sailing adventure in the Florida Keys, braving a hurricane on a trip to the Dominican Republic, or exploring the culinary world after falling in love with South Asian cuisine at a Nepalese restaurant in South Korea.

Chris always followed his natural curiosity and was excellent at seeing and solving problems. He attended Middle College at Durham Tech and went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, graduating with his B.S. in Computer Science this past December. In his academic and personal life, Chris dove head first into his passions, whether that be his love of cars, being an avid gamer, or taking every opportunity to spoil his niece Daphne. He stood firmly in his values and convictions on everything from the correct sauce to nugget ratio to the essential dignity of every human being. As a transplant recipient, Chris asked his friends and family to educate themselves on the importance of organ donation, and was an organ donor himself.

Chris will be remembered well for his humor, his grit, his authenticity, and his kindness, and he will be uniquely missed by each of those who knew and loved him.

There will be a service of remembrance on Saturday, July 19th at 11:00 a.m. at Lowe Funeral Home, 2205 S Church St, Burlington, NC 27215. The service will be followed by a drop-in reception with some of Chris’ favorite foods, time for sharing stories, and board games (bring your favorite) from 12:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Country Inn & Suites, 3211 Wilson Drive, Burlington, NC, 27215.

In recognition of Chris’ decision to be an organ donor, donations in his memory may be made to HonorBridge. https://honorbridge.org/community-engagement/ways-to-give/

The service for Christopher will be livestreamed and available to watch online.