Live Like Luke
Tara Bone
contributing writer
At just 16 years old, Luke Allsop was building an impressive resume. On the surface he was a passionate learner with a goal to study engineering and was well on his way as a 4.0 student studying AP calculus, AP physics, and attending Bridgerland Technical College (BTECH). He was a national champion on Green Canyon High School’s 2024 FFA Rangeland Management team and loved being part of the school’s robotics team.
Luke competing with the Green Canyon robotics team at Utah State, January 2025
But that’s not the whole story.
Luke worked hard to overcome challenges and invested in his relationships, becoming a treasured son, brother, and friend. He’s described by those who knew him as inquisitive, patient, determined, creative, funny, steadfast, kind, and a night owl who loved to cook. Though Luke’s life was unexpectedly cut short in December 2025, passing away just days before his 17th birthday, his life inspires and causes reflection on what matters most and how we can all live like Luke.
Luke was born January 7, 2009, to Ken and Kristen Allsop who had waited years for their second child. He was adored by big sister Ella and started life the way he’d live every day of his life: overcoming obstacles. Luke was born with club feet and Marfan Syndrome, a condition of the connective tissues with an enlarged aortic artery. He underwent surgeries on his feet in his younger years but according to Kristen, he didn’t complain or let anything hold him back.
He loved building Legos, creating, and playing with friends in his Hyrum neighborhood. He had early aspirations to be an engineer but had unexpected challenges learning how to read. After years of frustration, Kristen says they learned he had a form of dyslexia and reading was extremely difficult for him.
“But Luke was really good at not getting discouraged,” Kristen said. “He was very determined and had a high level of tolerance for his frustration. I remember being very worried that at some point he would get made fun of, but friends never made fun of him. I think it’s in part because he just kept in the game. He didn’t let it bother him and that is a characteristic that we learned from him — when we have challenges in life not to give up.”
And Luke never gave up. Instead, his reading challenges seemed to fuel his passion for learning. After third grade, Luke and his family moved to Amalga where he spent hours with headphones on, listening to audio books on his iPad — which Kristen calls a best friend —while doing chores around their home and outside on his grandparents’ farm. He loved to learn and share facts about animals and later physics.
Kristin Lee, Luke’s teacher at Green Canyon for multiple classes every yearin high school, recalls that they’d joke about Luke pulling 14-hour days at school. He’d arrive early in the morning for a BTECH class and stay after school for extracurricular activities and another BTECH coding class. Luke had set goals to complete the 900- and 600-hour courses and had completed a course at BTECH the previous summer. Ms. Lee says Luke enjoyed being at school and there were many things that made him special.
“Luke is one of the most incredible students I’ve ever worked with,” she said. “He had big hurdles to overcome that would have shut down anyone else, but that wasn’t Luke. I think the mental capacity it took for him to succeed is amazing and he still had a happy and humble attitude.”
Ms. Lee says there are many positive things she could share about Luke, but who he was came down to two things: He was passionate and humble. She recalls that his classmates didn’t know he’d won awards until it was announced at school, and he helped other students but never made anyone feel bad. She adds that he was calm and funny too, and that everybody recognized his kindness.
Ms. Lee says Luke’s impact in her classes was great and his absence is felt deeply. “After Christmas break, we were reading a short story and a science term came up that I didn’t know what it meant and a student said quietly, ‘Luke would have known.’ We were all missing him. It was a big moment; his absence was going to be big for us and we remember him fondly,” she said.
An unexpected impact Luke had on students according to Ms. Lee is people who didn’t know him, say they wish they would have known him or took time to know him better. She says it’s been a lesson in recognizing there are remarkable people all around us if we take time to invest in relationships.
The Allsop Family, August 1, 2025
Though Luke had many friends, close relationships didn’t stop with his peers. According to his dad, Ken, Luke was close with each of his five sisters and his brother, always showing kindness and patience. His mom Kristen adds, with five sisters he “put up with a lot of shenanigans.” When his family remembers Luke, it’s apparent he was adored. He spent hours on his beloved 3D printer with his little brother Joseph — who Luke affectionately called Joooooo-ey — making items to sell at Smithfield Library’s youth market. Luke had even used his 3D printer recently to create a part needed for the drip system he was helping install on their family farm.
Whatever they were making, Joseph loved being Luke’s 3D printer apprentice and roommate. His sister Lucy recalls games they played in the basement and that when Luke played, everyone played. Another sister, Velva, remembers him listening to scriptures without headphones at 5 a.m. She says what she learned from Luke is “even when you have trials or hardships don’t let them get it in your way, and make sure to have the Lord in your life, and it will be OK.”
Luke and his sister Rosie liked to spend time outside together, doing chores or paddling on a nearby pond. With fondness, she remembers how he coaxed her into waking up at 4 a.m. to help him catch up on homework. This included baking a pie for him to take to a class. Luke was very persuasive. Velva shares that whenever they wanted something from their mom — like staying up late — they just had Luke ask.
Luke was not a typical teenage boy. Kristen remembers when she got flustered about chores he’d respond with “oh dear, oh dear,” and would often add “it’s going to be OK mom.” He loved to cook, often making breakfast and baking his “famous Luke brownies.” He even cooked turkeys for some Thanksgiving dinners. His sisters loved his homemade french fries, and both parents recall a dinner when Luke decided to make hamburgers, including buns from scratch and homemade fries. Ken adds that though he used about “80 dishes,” his culinary creations usually turned out. Kristen says he made everything “bigger and better.”
Luke loved ice sports and to ski. He was excited to hit the slopes with friends during ski season because he had his driver’s license. He was quiet, but not afraid to get out of his comfort zone. Kristen recalls attending a youth dance and encouraging Luke and other boys in their group to ask a girl to dance. Luke was the only one to ask someone to dance, and Kristen even “snuck” a picture of the moment.
Most recently in his efforts of persuasion, Luke was trying to talk Ken into taking a family cruise. They’d taken a family cruise a few years earlier and loved it. Ken was considering going in December, but between school and other responsibilities, decided to wait. Since Luke’s passing, Ken has a new focus.
“In hindsight, had I known what the future events would have been, I would have said, let’s forget school and book a cruise,” Ken said. “You feel like if you take a break or spend a few bucks everything’s gonna fall apart. There’s a lot of things in life that are important, and a lot of the practical things are important, they really are, just don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.”
Luke’s life points to something simple and important: Don’t wait for later. Take the trip. Make the call. Be there for your people. And when things get hard, don’t give up — keep going. That’s what Luke did every day, and it’s a life lesson worth holding on to and worth remembering to live like Luke.
Luke Allsop, March 2024 on a family trip