Amber Le Woolley Esplin

Amber Le Woolley Esplin

August 2, 1984 to May 7, 2024

Amber Le Woolley came into this world at 6:51 pm on August 2, 1984, just 36 minutes after her parents, Laren and JerriLynn Woolley, were admitted to the hospital. It all happened so fast that her dad (and the doctor) barely made it to the hospital in time. She was the second of three Woolley girls, joining AmyLyn (2 ½ years older) and then Lindsey Laurel (4 years younger). Amber spent her early years playing outside and swimming with her older sister in sunny California, learning to ride a bike, hiking and camping with her family, and visiting with cousins. When she was 4 years old, the family moved to Gold Beach, Oregon, where Amber spent most of her younger years. While there, she started school and spent her free time building forts, playing in creeks, and beachcombing with her friends and family. At the age of 8, she was baptized in the Pacific Ocean. She loved the beach and had an extensive shell collection and enjoyed making driftwood shell sculptures and looking for agates and sand dollars. Amber was eager to try new things and had fun participating in Daisy and Girl Scouts (with her mom as a leader), 4-H, T-ball, fishing, basketball, and camping. When she was only 8, the family went on a weeklong backpacking trip in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Amber carried her own pack the whole way. When Amber was 11, her family got into white water rafting. Amber was fearless, soon kayaking the rapids on her own.

Amber’s freshman year of high school, she moved with her family to Bend, Oregon, attending a high school as big as the entire town she grew up in! She was not intimidated and soon had a large group of close friends. She loved participating in the Young Women’s program through Church and rarely missed a day of seminary. She earned her Young Womanhood Recognition Award, similar to an Eagle Scout award. She had a reputation for being responsible but fun and was a favorite babysitter in the neighborhood. She also worked at Bend Mapping and Blueprint on weekends and after school, biking to and from the shop. Later she worked at Taco Bell, Burger King, Sizzlers, Little Cesar’s Pizza, and taught kayaking at BYU-I to earn money for college. 

Amber graduated from Mountain View High School in Bend, Oregon, on June 6, 2002 (a great birthday present to her mom). She enrolled at BYU-Idaho where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in Health Science. Amber had a great time at college, making many friends, dating, and exploring southern Idaho. While there, she met her future husband, Brandon Esplin. They married almost a year and a half later in the Idaho Falls temple on December 18, 2004, honeymooning on the Oregon coast where she grew up. After graduating from BYU-I two years later, they moved to San Antonio, Texas, where Brandon started a job at USAA. 

They were blessed with three wonderful daughters over the next several years: Lillian Claire, Talia Lynn, and Audriana Riley. Although Amber could have pursued a career in public health, she had a strong desire to dedicate her life to raising her children. She was a devoted mom, taking great pride in helping teach them to work hard, live with integrity, and have fun. Amber was an avid reader and has instilled that love of reading in her daughters. Amber also provided loving care to Brandon as he dealt with serious health challenges stemming from a lifelong heart condition, seeing him through numerous appointments and procedures, including a life-threatening pacemaker surgery infection in 2015.

Amber started to experience unexplained pain in her back and shoulder and by the summer of 2016 the pain had become so severe that she had to rely on crutches to get around. Finally after multiple doctor visits and numerous tests, at age 32 Amber received a devastating diagnosis: stage 4 breast cancer. Despite the grim outlook, Amber refused to even consider a negative outcome. She underwent aggressive chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries, battling through the debilitating pain and nausea and fatigue to continue to be there for her children. After 7 months of grueling treatment, the cancer seemed to be under control. Unfortunately, the cancer didn’t stay dormant for long. Throughout the nearly 8 years that followed her diagnosis, Amber fought numerous battles with cancer, understating her pain to create as much normalcy for her family as possible. 

Through the highs and lows of her battles, Amber continued to smile and serve. She ferried her daughters back and forth to school activities and served in multiple church positions, including serving in the Young Women presidency and as the Church librarian. She loved her family fiercely and was a dear friend to her sisters. Amber loved storytelling and served as the family historian, sharing stories of her childhood and extended family and working hard to ensure her spread out family stayed close. Instead of focusing on her own situation, Amber continually looked outward, seeking ways to support and help others.

Over the years, the family continued creating memories through camping trips and vacations to South Padre Island and Corpus Christi, the Oregon Coast, Lake Powell, Island Park, Mexico, San Diego, and Washington, DC. Amber loved doing many activities with her family, including enjoying their season pass to SeaWorld, playing games, swimming, creating and selling 3D-printed items, making videos for the family YouTube channel, riding the family ATV, and doing all things Star Wars. They adopted a snake named Jupiter, a tortoise named Barbossa, and a dog named Phoenix. In order to be closer to family and have a fresh start, in August 2018 they moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Amber loved spending warm evenings outside and in the pool. 

In 2022, Amber’s health situation became dire but she still refused to even consider the possibility of the worst. After demanding a more aggressive treatment plan from her oncologists, she surprised everyone by beating the odds again, pushing the cancer out of her liver. In March of 2024, however, the cancer spread to the lining of Amber’s brain and spinal cord. She continued to fight, undergoing surgery to be able to receive chemotherapy directly in her brain. Although she never gave up, treatments proved ineffective. Amber was admitted to the hospital on May 2, 2024. She passed away in her sleep, surrounded by family, on May 7, 2024. 

An inspiration to all who knew her, Amber is now at rest. She is survived by her devoted husband, Brandon, who has worked tirelessly to support her journey; their three children: Lillian, age 16; Talia, age 13; and Audriana, age 10; her parents, Laren and JerriLynn Woolley; her two sisters, AmyLyn Reynolds and Lindsey (and Clifford) Hare; her grandmother, Sharon Pope; and many extended family who love her dearly.

A memorial service will be held to celebrate Amber’s life on Saturday, May 11, at 11:00 am at the New River Latter-day Saint Chapel, 44611 N New River Rd, New River, AZ 85087. Amber loved color; feel free to wear colors if you choose. A viewing will precede the ceremony at 10:00 am. Those who cannot join in person are welcome to join online. A short graveside service will be held afterward at Black Canyon City Municipal Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in Amber’s name to Ally’s Wish, a nonprofit organization that supports terminally ill mothers with young children or another charitable organization of your choice. The family would like to express their deep gratitude for the generous outpouring of love and service we have received throughout this difficult journey and especially during these recent days of heartbreak.