Christopher J. Luce, 49 most recently of Keyport, NJ passed away on Monday, November 29 at Bayshore Community Medical Center. He was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and uncle.

He was born in Long Beach, California to Violet and the late Jeffrey Luce.

Christopher graduated from South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, WA and then went on to take courses from Olympic College and Seattle ITT. He was the owner/operator of RocketTech, an IT company serving the IT needs of small businesses.

Growing up with a father in the Navy, he moved back and forth mostly between California and Washington. However, his fondest memories were of the year that the family lived in Wisconsin, when he got to spend a lot of time with cousins and in schools with great food.

Christopher loved technology and met his wife, Kara, online in the fall of 2002. It took him a long time to convince Kara that he was legitimate and trustworthy, but eventually they would spend hours on the phone talking to each other and sharing hopes and dreams. They met in person for the first time in November 2003 and were married 7 months later.

People who didn’t know Christopher as a child would be surprised to hear that he was usually the smallest kid in his class. That, combined with his red hair and the fact that he was always the “new kid” meant that he withstood a lot of teasing and bullying. When he finally hit his growth spurt, he ended up being one of the biggest and strongest people in the room. He took it upon himself to protect those he loved and did not tolerate intimidation. He was extremely generous with his time and strength, going out of his way to help people in need.

Christopher loved to read and learn. He would spend hours soaking up information and taking things apart and putting them back together to see how they worked. When he found something he loved, he made sure everyone knew. He was particularly a fan of Opal GTs, Mercedes Benz, and his VW Touareg. He refused to buy any tools other than Bosch, and the first item he bought with gift cards from the wedding was a KitchenAid mixer, still in use this past Thanksgiving.

Christopher enjoyed cooking. He was famous for his biscuits and gravy, spaghetti sauce, chili, and cheddar ale soup. He would often volunteer to “help” with the cooking for various church functions, but usually just ended up taking over. It didn’t matter who was hosting the holiday meal at any time, he was going to make one anyway so that he could enjoy the leftovers. Whether we were hosting a holiday meal, a board game night with friends and/or family, or a youth group for a conference, his goal was that no one would leave his home hungry.

There is no way that one obituary could contain the whole of who Christopher was. He was loved so deeply by his friends and family will be missed greatly. He is predeceased by his son Joey, sister Heather Luce, his father Jeffrey Luce, and his beloved Labrador Roary.

Surviving are his wife Kara Luce and Labrador Astre of Keyport, his mother Violet Luce of Grapeview, WA, and his sisters Honey Renee Luce-Herman of Baldwin City, KS, and Jennifer Blount of Sandy Creek, NY. He is also survived by his nephews Tyler, Christopher, Chase, and Micah as well as his nieces Memphis, Alayna, Lindsey, and Riley.

Two celebrations of life will be held in his honor. The first will be Sunday, December 5 at 2:00 at LREI High School in NYC. The second will be held at Ebenfeld Church in Hillsboro Kansas on December 18, time TBD.

For messages of condolence or to share a favorite memory of Christopher, please visit his tribute page at www.HolmdelFuneralHome.com