Julius Eugene Luke, 87, of Stockbridge, formerly of Tifton, passed away Monday, September 4, 2017, at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. It is fitting that he passed away on Labor Day after spending his life sacrificing to provide for his family and retiring from the University of Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton. He was a self-taught hard worker who achieved great skill in carpentry, woodworking, and cabinetry. He would give you the shirt off his back but would need to wring out the sweat first. He came from little and left much, most notably a legacy of love and faith in a family that adored him.
“Judy” surrendered his heart to Jesus Christ in 1991, the highest peak in a life marred by some of the deepest valleys any man could walk. He was born to a sharecropper in the Great Depression. He lost an 18-year-old son. He lost two fingers at work. He lost three younger siblings. He buried his dad far too early. He underwent spinal fusion. He helped his middle-aged wife beat cancer. He eventually buried his beloved wife of 63 years. And he lived 15 months mourning her passing while battling leukemia with a calm certainty that comes only from knowing this Earth isn’t home. Through it all, he lived and loved with a sincerity and humility that endeared him to all.
He was a strong man. He was a good man.
He will be buried next to his wife and son in Lenox Cemetery immediately. His family will celebrate his life in a memorial service on Saturday, September 16, at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. The family will receive friends Saturday, September 16, 2017, from 1:00 p.m. until the hour of the service at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mr. Luke was born in Cook County on August 13, 1930 to the late Henry Ed Luke and Essie Belflower Luke. He is survived by daughter, Debra Luke Connell and son-in-law, Charles Connell of Tifton; son, Tim Luke and daughter-in-law, Karen of Stockbridge; four grandchildren, Joshua Cash of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hali Mallard of Tifton, Jacob Luke and J.P. Luke, both of Stockbridge; and three great-grandchildren, Kailyn Cash of Atlanta, Kyli Garretson of Tifton and Avery Mallard of Tifton.
Mr. Luke also is survived by sisters, Betty Jean Jones of Tifton and Margie Giddens of Adel. He was preceded in death by brothers, James Luke and Tommy Luke; and sister, Macy Cauthen, all of Lenox.