By SANDRA THAMES / Community Columnist

Lisa Holsomback was a member of a family of eight. Her dad worked hard in the coal mines of Shelby County, but when the work ran out, the family had moved to Hammond, Ind., where baby Lisa was born.

The Holsomback family always knew they would come back to Alabama, and come home they did in time for our subject to attend and graduate from Montevallo High School in 1984.

All her life, she had the same dream of cosmetology school. Unable to get into Nunnelly Trade School in Sylacauga in 1984 (classes were full), she chose to go back north, stay with relatives and attend Don Roberts Beauty Academy in Chicago.

Hard work with doubled-up classes followed and 11 months later, Lisa was back to high school sweetheart Tracy Lawley.

They married in 1988, and are parents of Heather, third year at Auburn, and David, 13.

Lawley has faced many health problems: Scoliosis, severe arthritis and several surgeries, but her faith and determination will not let her quit her job.

Cosmetology is her passion, her clients and employees are her other family, and Lawley sees her shop as a ministry.

“My customers can trust and confide in me,” she said. “We can share concerns, recipes, prayers, laughs, tears or family stories.”

The shop, known as Lisa and Company, was so named because it is the end result of a shop originally owned by Jan Montgomery, then by Pat Bishop (Lawley’s mentor) and now Lawley.

Although her location is a short hop down Highway 119 from where it was originally, she chose to open a bright “new-age feel” shop. But he says her heart still belongs to her older customers.

“Some of them are like mothers and grandmothers to me and I treasure them so much,” she said.

Since adulthood, Lawley has not been a traveler.

One trip to the beach, none to the mountains ­— this girl is all work.

Work at the shop, church, donating services to places such as the Salvation Army so they could do glamour shots or to those with autism to give them an uplifting experience — all this is important to Lawley.

“When a person leaves with a smile and has had a good hair experience, it just makes my day,” she said.

Lawley is known not only as a country girl, cosmetologist and active mom, but also as a Southern gospel music fan and a big advocate for animals.

With hard-headed determination and compassion, Lisa Lawley is a perky, bubbly, can’t-stay-still country girl who is living her dream

 

Community columnist Sandra Thames can be reached by e–mail at bobthames1942@yahoo.com.