Lisa Barber, 45, died May 24 after being struck by a maroon car while crossing the street in Chicago’s Humboldt Park area on May 11. Friends say she was warm, outgoing, and beloved at Sine Qua Non Salons, where coworkers and friends searched for her after she
When Lisa Barber didn’t show up for work at Sine Qua Non Salons on May 24, it wasn’t the kind of absence her coworkers were used to. Friends say Barber was the person who made people feel special—someone you could talk to and instantly feel heard.
At the salon at 2038 W. Chicago Ave. in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, coworkers began trying to locate her after she didn’t arrive. One coworker called Lisa Abinoja, one of Barber’s close friends. Abinoja said she tracked Barber’s cellphone to Mount Sinai Hospital. and what she found confirmed what her instincts already feared.
“It was clear that whatever happened was really bad,” Abinoja said.
Barber. 45. died on May 24. nearly two weeks after she was hit by a car while crossing the street in the 3100 block of West Franklin Boulevard. The crash occurred after 8 p.m. on May 11, Chicago police said. Barber had gotten off a CTA train and was walking to her home in Humboldt Park when a maroon car sped through the intersection and struck her. according to police.
Friends said Barber fell off the hood of the vehicle and hit her head, suffering a brain injury. The car did not stop, and police have not announced any arrests.
For people close to Barber, the hardest part now is accepting that the life she lived so openly—laughing, reading, singing karaoke—has been cut short.
“When you spoke with her, you knew she was listening and knew she cared,” said Tara Lattanzi, another of Barber’s close friends. “We could be ourselves with her.”
Nearly a decade ago, Barber left a career in higher education to pursue hairdressing, friends said. They described her as someone who pursued the work not just for a job. but for connection—building new relationships and expressing creativity. Barber joined Sine Qua Non Salons while she was finishing school. and owner Laura Boton said Barber was the perfect fit.
“She worked so hard,” Boton said. “She worked her butt off to get her chair. She was just a bright light and a beautiful person.”
Boton said Barber went through the salon’s training program in less than a year and quickly became a popular stylist. Friends say Barber’s outgoing personality stood out. They also said she “lived her life to the fullest.”
Barber’s interests reflected that rhythm. Friends described her as an avid reader with a taste for trivia, good cocktails, and singing karaoke.
Even though Barber lived alone, her friends said she wasn’t lonely. Boton said Barber joined the salon’s book club and attended all of the salon’s gatherings.
After Barber’s death, her salon family tried to give her memory a soundtrack. They gathered at Alice’s Lounge—one of Barber’s favorite karaoke bars—on May 31, spending hours singing and dancing.
Lattanzi and Abinoja said they met Barber in middle school and have supported one another through the years. They said the way to honor Barber is to keep living like she did.
“I told her in the hospital that I’m gonna laugh more, I’m gonna live hard,” Lattanzi said. “She would want us to continue to live life to its absolute fullest, because that’s how she lived.”
Barber is one of at least four people killed in citywide hit-and-run incidents in May. Last week, a 64-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash in South Shore. The 64-year-old was a passenger in an SUV traveling north in the 6900 block of South Stony Island Avenue around 2:40 a.m. A sedan traveling east collided with the SUV.
Lisa Barber Humboldt Park hit-and-run Chicago police Sine Qua Non Salons Ukrainian Village Mount Sinai Hospital Tara Lattanzi Lisa Abinoja Alice’s Lounge