Hannah Lester Obituary

Hannah Renée Lester (33) passed away January 7, 2026. She was born in Harrisonburg, VA on July 12, 1992, to Doug and Renee Yoder. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Spotswood High School in 2010 and attended college at Christopher Newport University. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2014 with a degree in Social Work. She then earned a master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She married Austin, the love of her life, on September 19, 2015. They spent their time together building the life they dreamed of since meeting in college, including living in multiple cities and growing their respective careers. However, their greatest accomplishment together was creating a family with Eloise and Cecilia.

Hannah took tremendous pride in motherhood and her family – instilling a love of creativity, adventure, and humility in Austin, Eloise, and CiCi. She loved spending her time exploring the outdoors, mountain camping in the pop-up camper, and crushing box jumps in the gym. As a social worker, she dedicated her career to serving families and children across Virginia and North Carolina. Hannah leaves behind a lasting impact on the organizations she chose to serve outside of work as well, especially her Burn Boot Camp community.

She is survived by her husband, Austin Lester and two daughters-Eloise (8) and CiCi (5); her parents, Doug and Renée Yoder; her sister and brother-in-law, Abbey and Danté Perry; her niece, Maya and nephew, Isaiah; her grandparents, Maureen Ramsett, Stella Reiter, Ray and Nancy Yoder. Also mourning her death are in-laws, Ken and Debbie Lester, Katie and Robert Arellano, Kelsey Lester, many family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her grandfathers, David Ramsett and Brad Reiter.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Cornerstone Christian School in Harrisonburg, VA. Hannah will be laid to rest in the Elk Run Cemetery in Elkton, VA.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Hannah's memory can be made to one of her favorite Raleigh non-profits, Note in the Pocket. https://noteinthepocket.org/