Delaney Rose Lester passed away September 8, 2023 at 9:05 AM.. She is survived by her maternal grandparents, Dennis and Ann Bodily, her mother, Kori Bodily Lester, and her siblings Katie (Emma), Duncan (McKenna), Lili and Brodey. She is preceded in death by her father, Sam Lester, and paternal grandparents, Lori Lester and Charles Lester.

Delaney was a one of a kind fighter. She had a time without oxygen before she was born, and still survived. She spent many weeks with the kind and loving healers in the NICU, where her genetic disorder was discovered. She had an extremely rare genetic duplication. Only 3 other people in the world had been found to carry the duplication. It didn't even have a name. Her mom just called it Delaney Syndrome.

Delaney's physical body may have limited her traditional abilities, but she had so many other talents to share. Her smiles lit up the room, and instantly made people happy. Her enthusiasm about going fast was hilarious. Driving with her on the freeway was probably one of the most fun experiences because she would hit her wheelchair to tell the driver to go faster and faster. Delaney would even give her faster signal when she was going for a walk. She loved it if the person pushing her wheelchair would run.

She was a spitfire that always made sure her expressions showed just exactly what she was thinking. She would flip her lip to let us know she wasn't happy and her eyes let you know exactly what she meant. If you knew Delaney, you knew exactly what she was saying because her expressions gave her away.

Delaney was stubborn about attempting to thrive beyond the limitations of her body. She hated shoes and would always kick her socks off while rolling on the floor - she thought that was hilarious! One of Delaney's gifts was that she always showed a positive attitude through the challenges she faced in life,

Music was very important to Delaney. She loved so many different kinds of music, but Johnny Cash was always her favorite. Delaney loved it when her sisters sang with her, but especially loved the afternoons one of her favorite nurses spent singing and playing music for her.

We will be eternally grateful for the members of her squad. She had specialists, doctors, therapists, nurses and caregivers who gave their all to help Delaney with her needs. We are very grateful for our St. Luke's Children's Hospital family. We got to know them a little too well, but we still love them.

We will miss our little smart aleck who rolled her eyes at us and let us know when she thought we were being dorks. She understood sarcasm from birth and loved to hear laughter. We joked that Delaney was not afraid to drop elbows and throw hands.

Although we are broken hearted that Delaney is gone, we are profoundly grateful that she is now free to run, sing, dance, laugh, and spin herself sick without limitation. A family friend, Samson Matthews, who has since passed often said "I am my heart, and my heart wants to sing for you."

We would be honored if you would sing and dance with us as we celebrate Delaney's life this coming Saturday September 16, 2023, LDS Church building located at 1950 Locust Grove Rd. Meridian, Idaho 83642. The fancy fair well will be from 9:00am-10:00am; the celebration of life will be at 10:00am. If possible, the family would like to request that you please wear your brightest or sparkliest attire. If you have glitter, bling it on!

Please picture her dancing heaven like we do.

Please donate to Rays for Rare https://www.raysforrare.org instead of sending flowers. You can also find a video about Delaney on their website. We are very grateful for their support and the love they share with families who have differently-abled children.