It's Sunday: Friends Rally To Help Former Manchester Salon Owner Who Has Helped Others

Friends will tell you that Renate Parascand has always been the kind of person who helps others.

Whether the longtime stylist was traveling to the homes of those who could not get out and get to a hairstylist -- and then giving them the service at no charge -- or helping out with every Manchester fundraiser she could, Parascand has given much to the Manchester and Lakehurst communities.

“She used to own her own salon, The Way We Were, in Lakehurst,” said Jeanne Morris of Style In Action Hair Studio, the Manchester salon that Parascand helped to found about 15 years ago. “You may know Renate otherwise as the ‘Teasing Queen,’ but she was more than a stylist. She was a counselor, a caregiver.”

Parascand retired from Style In Action -- which has become known for its many “Caring Cuts for the Community” donation days -- in January 2014, and just a few months after she and her husband bought a mobile home to retire into, she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The progressive, neurodegenerative disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, destroying the cells until they are no longer able to communicate instructions to the muscles, according to als.org. Eventually the disease is fatal.

Morris said Style in Action Hair Studio will be hosting a “Caring Cuts for the Community” on Sunday, Aug. 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., where patrons can come in and get a haircut for $15 plus a $15 gift certificate for a return trip. In addition to haircuts, the shop will be offering chair massages for the same $15/$15 deal, Morris said. Appointments are recommended, especially for the chair massages, she said.

In addition, there will be raffles, baskets to be raffled off, live music and refreshments, Morris said, and the group is accepting other donations as well. Contact Morris at 732-408-9898. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to Parascand and her family, she said.

“It’s time for the community to serve her, for she is a great soul and wonderful person,” Morris said.

“There is one thing for sure: we all feel that sense of pride knowing that our community rallies together to help a neighbor,” Morris said. “It’s time for the community to serve her, for she is a great soul and wonderful person.”

Style In Action is in the Commonwealth Plaza, 1980 Route 37 West in Manchester.

(Photo credit: Jeanne Morris)