Delilah Rene Luke, 57, more widely known as simply “Delilah,” has opened up about the devastating death of her 18-year-old son Zachariah, who passed away on Oct. 2 to suicide. Even more heartbreaking, the beloved radio star revealed that Zack had been suffering from depression, but was doing better than ever in the days leading up to his death. In an effort to help other families, Delilah opened up about what her son’s journey looked like. She even revealed he penned a goodbye note. Click here to see some of the saddest celebrity deaths of 2017.
Although Delilah has not shared the manner of Zack’s death, she did give some insight into what his message said. “His goodbye note did not mention sadness, anger, angst, or depression, just a pressing madness about feeling like this world was not his home,” the host told People magazine. We can’t even begin to imagine what she and her family are going through right now. “She’s devastated,” Delilah’s friend and rep Aaron Crisler said.
“He was my wild child; 13 broken bones, umpteen trips to the hospital with appendicitis, tonsillitis, a fractured skull. He was wild but so so so sweet,” the Point Orchard, Washington-based host said of raising Zack, who’s one of her three biological children — the other 10 were welcomed through adoption. Even though the high school senior was young, he already seemed to take after his mom, as Delilah explained he had her same gift for compassion and for helping others. “He was a faithful friend to the outcast and the troubled. Dozens of his friends have written to me and told me he was like a counselor to them,” the grieving mom said.
In fact, in the wake of Zack’s death, the mom of one of his friends reached out to Delilah, telling her that Zack “saved her daughter’s life when she was battling depression and anorexia, insisting the girl tell her folks and going with her to do that.” It wasn’t until recently that he too began his own battle with depression. It all started after a car accident in December 2016, Delilah shared. “The event traumatized him,” she said. Adding to the teen’s pain, he then experienced a breakup and an illness. Soon, Zack found himself behind in school.
“When he found out he wouldn’t graduate, he spiraled into depression, and was honest about it,” his mom said. In response, she immediately “found him doctors, a fabulous counselor and support group.” However, all of that only appeared to help on the surface. “He was doing so well,” Delilah said of the time right before the end. “He was looking forward to making up his missed credits, graduating and starting film school. He was fascinated with science fiction and time travel and began to talk about the book A Wrinkle in Time and quantum physics.”
This isn’t the first time Delilah has lost a child either. In 2012, her 16-year-old son Sammy passed away from complications due to sickle cell anemia. She’s also faced struggles with her parents and has had three failed marriages. However, she’s currently married to business owner Paul Warner. In light of her son’s death, Delilah is taking a leave of absence from her radio show. “The lady who is there for everyone else every single night now needs our love and our prayers sent right back to her,” Aaron said.
Our hearts go out to Delilah and her entire family during this extremely difficult time. HollywoodLifers, please leave your condolences in the comments below.