Luke Michael Zellers

Luke Michael Zellers, 19 of Palmyra, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.  Luke was a 2019 graduate of Palmyra Area High School and a freshman at Shippensburg University. He is survived by his parents, Shawn and Sarah, brother, Philip, sister, Gracie, paternal grandparents, Les and Doris Zellers, maternal grandparents, Mickey and Pixie Haist, Sr., aunts and uncles, Tom and Natalie Dixon, Mike and Mary Manning, Mickey and Jill Haist, Jr., Olivia Haist, Benny and Jamie Haist, Scott Zellers, Greg and Angie Fisher, and cousins, Stevie, Emma, Maddie, Andy, Harrison, Grant, Polly, Amelia, Benny, Eileen, and Bradley.  Luke was loved.  

Luke’s smile lit up any room and his belly laugh could make anyone grin.  His eyes twinkled when he was up to his boyish antics that mostly involved scaring his sister or trapping his brother in a wrestling move.  He never shied away from a potentially embarrassing situation, if it meant he could make someone smile. Luke was life.  

During the summers, Luke worked at Hersheypark as a ride operator, but just this past summer found pride in operating the steam train as an engineer.  Excited for this newest chapter of his life, Luke was set on choosing his path at Shippensburg and not merely falling into one. He had recently set up meetings with advisors and professors to change his course of study from education to software engineering.  He felt comfort that he was following a plan that he was constructing. In addition, he had plans to join a fraternity in the spring. Luke was choosing his future, and he was happy.

Luke was taken too soon.   He will be missed by many, because he was so easy to love.  A mischievous boy, no doubt, but all he had to do was smile, twinkle those dark brown eyes, and it didn’t matter.  He loved his friends and family and felt secure in their love for him. Two days before he passed away, he was walking across campus and felt compelled to text his mom, “Did you see the moon tonight?”  That’s the kind of man Luke was and why there are so many who will miss him. Those that were fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a Luke hug, know that there will never be a replacement. Luke Zellers was one of a kind.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at 11AM at the Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 25 W. Pine St., Palmyra, PA 17078 with Chaplain Dana Statler officiating.  A time of visitation will be held from 10AM until the start of the service.

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