Thomas Jack Cooke

He was born on March 26, 1964 in Charlotte to the late Thomas Carl Cooke and Helen Jeannette Stallings.

Thomas entered the workforce initially doing construction with family before later joining the maintenance department at a local hotel. Over time he worked his way up to Chief Engineer at Renaissance Suites Hotel on Yorkmont Road. His dedication to consistently learning and improving led to his advanced certifications in areas such as servesafe, CPR, and digital door locks. At times, he was also acting Manager on Duty for the entire hotel. Thomas eventually retired after over 30 years in the hotel industry.

Although he never worked formally as a mechanic, he had a lot of skill when it came to cars, and he was always willing to help others with their car troubles. Thomas also devoted a lot of his time over the years to drumming in the band he was in. The band played many gigs at local establishments and for private parties, and while he was primarily the drummer, he could also pick a guitar quite well, and he even sang a few songs.

Thomas also had a slew of interests that occupied his time and inspired his mind. He was passionate about building model cars and airplanes, and was meticulous in his creation of them. He delighted in creating painted and motorized models of the cars his friends and family drove, or even just someone’s favorite car, and giving them as gifts.

Some of Thomas’s favorite pastimes were spending time with his wife, Lorna. They met when Thomas was a patron at the local bowling alley where Lorna was bartending and were married on October 30, 1985 at Kure Beach, NC. They enjoyed countless trips to the beach, Myrtle especially, Asheville, and the casino in Cherokee. In their day-to-day life, they loved going out to eat and watching movies, both in theatres and at home. Thomas was Lorna’s rock for the last 40 years.

Other favorite pastimes included walking his dog Buddy and taking his grandkids out on Saturdays to various places around town.

Thomas was a special person; he was naturally lighthearted and easygoing, and he loved to make others smile, and he always had a joke ready to make light of things so others were comfortable. His fun, bubbly nature made him easy for everyone to love, even his kids’ friends liked spending time with him. Thomas just had the rare ability to relate to anyone he talked to.

Those left to honor Thomas’s memory include his loving wife, Lorna Tilbury Cooke; sons, Chris Cooke and Tim Cooke; grandsons, Khai Cooke and Jaiden Cooke; and siblings, Deedee Kelso (Ken), Danny Cooke (Minnie), and Sherrie Hurt; as well as numerous special nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, other extended family members, and friends.

Thomas has been reunited in Heaven with his parents, Carl and Jeannette Cooke.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 2:00pm until 4:00pm on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at Forest Lawn West Funeral Home, 4601 Freedom Drive in Charlotte. The memorial service is to be conducted at 4:00pm, immediately following the visitation, in the Paul Helton Chapel at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Thomas’s memory to the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute or ASPCA.