David Edward Hookham was born June 5th, 1957 in Glenn Ellyn Illinois. He was second of three children (Valerie, Dave & Philip) to parents Samuel Gay Hookham and Arlene Claire Hookham. From an early age, Dave developed an interest in engineering, a career that would take him many places in life.
In his teenage years, Dave worked for his father’s construction company and continued his passion for building and fixing things. He soon became a vital member of the Hookham Brothers Construction.
Dave graduated with a BS and a MS in Chemical Engineering at The University of Illinois and The University of Wisconsin respectively. Then he began his career in Houston where he went on to pursue and achieve an additional MS in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Houston.
While working in Houston, he met one of his colleagues, Patricia Maillard, whom he eventually married in 1991. Not long after, they welcomed the birth of a beautiful son, William Travis Hookham.
Dave was a very cautious person. He once worked for a multinational company and was sent to work at Qingdao, China. When he was at immigration, he was asked to sign a Chinese document. But because he couldn’t understand the content, he refused to sign, and in turn, he was imprisoned for a few days. Ultimately his company had to send someone to get him out. He was a man of integrity, one who lived by moral values and would never yield to intimidation or bribery.
He would never make a concession to anything unreasonable. He was once cheated by a credit card company who asked him to pay more than what he owed. He refused to do so. Hence from then on, he stopped using credit cards altogether. He chose to do what he felt was right and he wouldn’t easily compromise.
In 2005, Dave was assigned a work project in Japan. There he met a close colleague who brought him to the New Testament Church while in Japan. Dave then accepted the Full Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Witnesses of Blood, Water and Holy Spirit. On Sept.11, 2005 he was baptized into the Lord’s name in the oceans of Japan. After Dave returned to the New Testament Church, he was filled with unspeakable joy and felt very content. For the whole year in Japan, he would look forward to weekends when he would faithfully attend church services with his fellow Christian brothers and sisters.
In 2006, Dave returned to Houston after his job assignment in Japan. He continued to attend weekly church services in the Church of Houston.
With a simple heart, Dave believed that nothing happened by coincidence, but through the arrangements of God. Whenever he saw spiritual numbers or heavenly phenomenon, he believed they were God’s signs to confirm his faith in following Grandpa in the NTC. It always seemed fairly easy for him to follow without doubt or queries. He knew that the NTC was the true church rebuilt by the Holy Spirit, in which Grandpa is the true apostle, and that NTC is a place where he could find the Truth
that lead to eternal life. Ever since he returned to the NTC, he never disobeyed the heavenly vision. He often downloaded and listened to the Church audio messages and whenever coworkers gave him spiritual book assignments, he would complete everything with no further ado.
Having known each other for 31 years, Dave and Patricia gradually accumulated uncompromising issues that strained their marriage. Knowing the teachings of the Bible, Dave tried to save the marriage but to no avail. They just couldn’t reach common grounds, so in 2012 they got a divorce.
Just when life seemed to have fallen apart for Dave in 2012, he met Esther in Houston. He admired her faith in the Lord, and eventually remarried inJanuary, 2014.
After their marriage, Esther only grew more certain that Dave was God’s custom-made companion for her. There was no secret, no boundaries that kept them apart. He always called Esther his dear wife. They were best friends; they were soul-mates.
Their time spent together was unforgettable. They toured various places, including the Biblical site of Noah’s Ark on the Mounts of Ararat in Turkey. After watching life videos from different consecrated lands, Dave began to long for the Eden lifestyle, to live according to God’s original creation. Dave happily followed Esther to several consecrated lands. They visited Mt. Zion, the holy mountain in Taiwan, various local churches in Taiwan, and often went to Mt. Olive, an offshoot of Zion in California. Dave admired how brothers and sisters in the NTC, served God in one heart without any distinction of being rich or poor. He loved Grandpa and followed Grandpa’s leading, because he affirmed that Grandpa is the Latter Day Elijah prophesied in the Book of Malachi. In his pocket, Dave always carried with him a key chain with Grandpa’s picture on it. Because Dave and Esther shared the same faith and vision, their lives together were full of meaning and value. They were very happy together.
Dave was a very frugal person. He would never throw anything away as long as it was still useful. He didn’t care too much about his attire or his impression on others. He was very well-paid, but he didn’t seek for materialistic things. He was very content with what he had. Nevertheless, he was a very grateful person. In his will, he wanted to donate part of his assets to the college he went to. Back then it was at this college that he had a heart surgery through students’ insurance and received a large amount of blood transfusion. Ever since then, he often returned to donate his blood. This was his gesture of gratitude. He has a blood-donor’s cup at home, which shows that he’s already donated 30 gallons of blood, over the years.
For the last 12 years, Dave was a true Christian, proven by his Christian conduct. He didn’t smoke, drink, abuse drugs, or gamble. He didn’t watch ball games, or read any obscene publications. He didn’t enjoy worldly entertainments. He was not interested in shopping, buying and selling stocks, nor was he ever tempted by investment opportunities. He simply worked diligently. He kept a low-profile of himself and didn’t put too much attention on what he ate or what he wore. Life could be less than comfortable, but he had the audacity to endure through hardships.
During the holidays at the end of 2017, Dave went to Taiwan with Esther for her dentist and eye doctor’s appointment. Afterwards, they learned that Esther needed to have a cataract surgery, so Dave first went back to the US. Originally, Esther thought she would be back home in 10 days. Unexpectedly, she had an allergic reaction toward the eye drops, so her return flight was postponed. During their time apart, Esther and Dave either sent text messages or talked on the phone, every day. On Dec 28, when Esther called Dave, no one answered the phone. When she didn’t get a reply from any of her texts or emails, she sensed something was wrong, so she immediately asked Dave’s son to call the local police, and asked the neighbors to check the house. Soon after, the police found Dave lying on the floor, in the backyard patio. He had passed away.
On 12/17 during the meeting, all the saints watched the Dec 17th video report on the dedication of the fence on Hebron. Dave was exceptionally attentive as everyone proclaimed 1 Chon 11, 12: "David, our dear Grandpa, we are yours, we are with you! Success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you….David's kingdom appears! Grandpa's ministry is accomplished! God’s work is done!”
While determining the day of resting service, Esther felt that it would be most convenient for the guests to attend on a Sunday, so Jan. 14th seemed to be the perfect day. At a closer look on NTC’s calendar, everyone realized without foreknowledge that Jan. 14th was the Passover! From this we all saw how God confirmed that Dave had been sanctified and made holy not by works nor deeds but by believing in the forgiveness of the Blood of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ Who takes away all our sins.
When the highway on MO was made accessible and the walls of the City of David was built, Dave was chosen by God, to be adorned and received into glory, so we’re very thankful for him. Though we are all reluctant to see our dear Brother Dave go so abruptly, but God uses this as a reminder that He can also come at any time to receive His Church. Dave was prepared and ready, so the Lord took him first. Our Brother Dave is truly one who fought the good fight, ran the race, and kept the faith. He never disobeyed the vision from heaven. Therefore, his life is full of meaning and value. Very soon, we will meet our dear Bro. Dave again in the Holy City! Hallelujah UNNS ACP!
Services are planned for Sunday, January 14, 2018 in the Chapel of Beresford Funeral Service with viewing/visitation from 1 to 2 PM and the funeral starting at 2 PM.
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