Lori Panarello, of Mattituck, activist, owner of hair salon, dies at 67

Lori Panarello was passionate — about her family, about her hair salon in Greenport and about her belief that by mixing career and community activism, she could do her part to improve the world and the lives of so many others.

One of them is Bonnie Larcheveque, a hairdresser at the salon, Craft Hair, which Panarello opened in 2020.

"I have the most amazing career, and it’s because I was trained and guided by her," Larcheveque said.

Panarello, who was married with three children, died Oct. 8 at her Mattituck home, surrounded by family, after a yearlong battle with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. She was 67.

Another longtime friend and co-worker, Denise Santiago, said Panarello initially didn't plan on working in the hair industry. She was interested in footwear. Born in New York City, Panarello studied marketing at St. John’s University, according to Santiago.

One day, at a photo shoot, Panarello was busy fixing a model’s hair. Someone commented she should do hair full time, and it stuck with her. In her late 20s, Panarello went to beauty school. After that, she worked as an assistant in a salon in Plainview, working her way up to manager.

When the salon was set to close down, several co-workers urged Panarello to start her own business.

"Once you started working for Lori," Santiago said, "everybody stayed."

In 2003, Panarello opened id SALON in Syosset, which later moved to Woodbury. The salon employed about 40 people before it was sold in December, after Panarello had been diagnosed with glioblastoma. Santiago said she made a promise to Panarello to keep Craft Hair open.

Panarello was as passionate about activism as she was about hair. In 2016, she founded Beauty United Against Bullying, a nonprofit that recruits hair and beauty salons worldwide to participate in anti-bullying efforts.

In a clip posted on YouTube, Panarello told an interviewer it was a neighborhood teenager's death by suicide after being bullied that led her to start the organization.

When it came to her salons, she considered both "safe spaces" in their respective neighborhoods for members of the LGBTQ+ community or anyone else.

"We have signs in the windows, and local people know if they’re feeling threatened, or they’re in trouble, they can come into the salon and we’ll take care of them," Panarello told the interviewer in 2018 at a hair industry convention.

Panarello was also a member of North Fork Women, an organization dedicated to fostering a safe and healthy community for lesbians on the North Fork of Long Island. She was also instrumental in bringing Greenport and the North Fork the area's first Pride parade.

"She got the whole community involved in it. Every restaurant and store in Greenport supported it in some way," said Chris P'Simer, the former president of North Fork Women, of the initial parade in 2024.

"We filled the streets with rainbow flags, women and men, heterosexuals and homosexuals," P'Simer added. "It was a party for Greenport."

Panarello is survived by her wife, Catherine Canadé; their children, Luca, Sofia and Bo Washenko; and her grandson, Atticus Emanuel.

"I’m so privileged to have been able to take care of her and be her wife and partner; it’s been the greatest honor of my life. Someone said to me, you hit the jackpot and you got robbed, which is true," Canadé said.

In September, Panarello's friends, family members, clients and co-workers participated in a walk at Jones Beach as part of the New York Brain Tumor Walk to raise money and awareness for brain cancer.

"We hope to make it an annual tradition. I’d like to continue her legacy by continuing to walk for brain tumor research," Canadé said.

The family will hold a private interment in November. A private celebration of life will take place in June 2027.

Donations may be made to the National Brain Tumor Society, Pitbulls and Addicts dog rescue and the LGBT Network.