Ashley Jo Barber, 33, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at her home due to health complications.
A memorial service was Thursday, Nov. 18, at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.
Ashley Jo Barber was born on Aug. 18, 1988, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar to Richard and Holly Jo (Johnson) Barber. She was baptized Sept. 9, 1988, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Willmar and confirmed her faith on May 18, 2003, at Palisades Lutheran Church in Garretson, South Dakota. She spent her early childhood years in Willmar, Hanley Falls and Welch. In 1999 the family moved to Luverne, where Ashley Jo continued her schooling. She loved community theater and participated in Green Earth Players productions. Throughout high school, she worked at the Magnolia Steak House and Verne Drive In. She graduated from Luverne High School in 2006 and continued her education at Minnesota West in Pipestone for medical coding/transcriptionist, graduating in 2008.
She worked for the Luverne Hospital and then the Sanford Women’s Plaza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After a number of years, she switched careers to an administrative assistant where she was employed at Labor/People Ready and most recently the Department of Social Services with the state of South Dakota as a senior secretary.
Ashley Jo had a deep spirituality and was a positive, selfless person who helped people in the best way she could. She loved tattoos and enjoyed collecting antique books and jewelry. She was a lover of light and knew how to live life colorfully. She had a passion for all things burlesque and performed as a kitten in the Va-Va-Voom show at the VeauxDevil Caberet-Burlesque and Performance Art Center in Sioux Falls. She competed with the Sioux Falls Roller Dollz in the roller derby community, was an amateur photographer and earned her Reiki Level 1 & 2 Certification.
Ashley Jo is survived by her fiancé, Sean Strack of Sioux Falls; her parents, Richard and Holly Jo Barber of Luverne; a brother, Nicholas Barber and his wife, Briana, of Beaver Creek; niece Emberly Barber; and other family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Vergil and Ella Barber and Russell and Clarice Johnson; and an aunt, Peggy Ellingson.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com.
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