Luke’s journey began in August 2022 with devastating news. Doctors told him he had stage-four leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer of the smooth muscles that accounts for less than two-tenths of a percent of all diagnoses. The prognosis was grim. He was given about a year to live. But Luke refused to let a number on a chart dictate his future. Instead of withdrawing, he made the bold choice to fight—not just for himself, but for his family and for every person who might one day face the same uphill climb.
The treatment road was brutal. Round after round of chemotherapy brought exhaustion, sickness, and setbacks that would have broken many. Each time, Luke found a way to push forward. When his oncologist told him in October of last year that he might only have months left, he simply adjusted his focus. Instead of counting time, he counted moments—moments of laughter with his wife Beckey, of story time with his daughters, of coffee shared with his parents Lisa and Brian. Every day became something to hold, not something to fear.
Through it all, Luke opened his life to the world. On his YouTube channel, I Will Not Be Defeated, he invited strangers into his most vulnerable moments. He didn’t sugarcoat the exhaustion or the pain, but he also didn’t let despair dominate the narrative. He shared updates with raw honesty, finding humor in the smallest corners, reminding people that life, even in its hardest chapters, is worth showing up for. His channel became more than a diary—it became a lifeline for others who were fighting, grieving, or simply trying to make sense of their own struggles.
Locally, people in Grimsby knew Luke as a kind-hearted man, a steady friend, and a devoted family member. But through his videos, his story spread far beyond his hometown. Viewers across the country, and eventually across the world, came to know him as a symbol of resilience. He became proof that even when the body fails, the spirit can remain undefeated.
Luke leaves behind his wife, Beckey, who walked every step of the journey with him, offering her strength when his ran low. He leaves his parents, Lisa and Brian, who raised a son whose courage inspired a nation. He leaves a circle of extended family and friends who will continue to tell his stories. Most heartbreakingly, he leaves behind his young daughters, including three-year-old Scarlett, who will grow up knowing her father not only through memories, but through the powerful legacy he built with his words and his fight.
Though Luke did not get the decades he deserved, he filled the years he had with meaning. He loved his family fiercely, he faced his fears openly, and he taught others how to hold on to hope even when the odds seemed impossible. The promise he made to himself and to those who followed his journey was simple: he would not be defeated. And in the truest sense, he never was. Cancer may have taken his body, but it did not claim his laughter, his courage, or the love he left behind.
Today, those who knew Luke mourn deeply, but they also celebrate. They celebrate the warrior who fought until the very end, the husband who cherished his wife, the father who adored his children, and the man who let the world see him exactly as he was. His story does not close with his passing—it continues in the people who found strength in his words, in the family he loved beyond measure, and in every person who chooses to face hardship with the same defiant courage.
Luke’s life was short, but it was not small. He made it matter. And in that way, he kept his word: he was not defeated.