Jamie Hoke passed away on Thursday, May 16, at the age of 48, following a lifelong battle with epidermolysis bullosa.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases defines epidermolysis bullosa as “a group of rare diseases that cause the skin to be fragile and to blister easily.” Epidermolysis bullosa ranges in severity and can lead to complications.

In an effort to offset the medical and related costs associated with living with the disease, individuals and organizations across state lines banded together to raise about $900,000 for Hoke in the early 1980s. The funds were deposited at Peoples National Bank.

A 1982 spread in the Lebanon Daily News recognized Jamie Hoke as one of the year’s top newsmakers.

Along with the money came controversy about who would spend it and what it would be spent on. Then-President Judge G. Thomas Gates decided that the trust fund would be audited annually and the results publicized to try to address these questions.

The 27th and final audit of the trust fund, which covered the 2010 calendar year, was filed on March 29, 2011, and reflects the winding up of the trust, which was administered by Wells Fargo at the end.

In spite of his debilitating medical condition and the controversy surrounding his trust fund, Hoke found meaning in life through his passions for family, food, music, and baseball, according to an obituary released by Thompson Funeral Home.

“He brought immeasurable joy and light into our lives with his contagious laughter and quick wit,” his family stated in the obituary. “A pillar of strength and a beacon of love, his absence leaves an immense void in our lives. The depth and happiness he shared will forever remain in our hearts.”

Hoke’s parents, Richard and Diana Hoke, and sisters, Nancy Liskey, Wanda Day, Cindy Hoke, Shelley White, and Lisa De’Pugh, as well as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins, survive him. His nephew, Kevin De’Pugh, predeceased him as a result of a vehicle accident.

Those who wish to remember Hoke can make a donation in his name to EB Research Partnership online at www.ebresearch.org or send it by mail to 244 Madison Ave., Suite 104, New York, NY 10016.

In addition, they can write a message remembering Hoke’s life and legacy and submit it to the funeral home’s online guest book. As of Sunday, June 9, there were almost two dozen messages, many of which spoke to their connections to Hoke and their favorite memories with him.

This article was produced in part thanks to archival news coverage from decades past of Jamie Hoke by the Lebanon Daily News.

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Lexi Gonzalez has worked as a reporter with LebTown since 2020. She is a Lancaster native and became acquainted with Lebanon while she earned her bachelor's degree at Lebanon Valley College.

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