New Jersey — www.northumberlandnews.com – ‘Lightning Lisa’ died a noble death.

The 48-year-old retired stripper, also known as Lisa Marie Palmiere, gave her live to save a friend. She stepped in front of a gun aimed at her boyfriend on Sidney Street in Trenton, on Feb. 27. She was shot and killed. Jason Frost, 30, and Michael Garniss, 49, are charged with first-degree murder.

“The last day of her life she tried to save someone else,” her friend Cathy Bateman said during a memorial service held at Trenton’s At The Crossroads Church, on Sunday, March 14. “She didn’t save herself. I’ll never forget her.”

Lightning Lisa’s life left a laundry list of tragedy.

At age 14, her mother’s boyfriend delivered an ultimatum to pick between him and her children. She chose her boyfriend. Lisa spent the remainder of her adolescence on the streets of Vancouver.

She quickly discovered the adult entertainment industry, where older dancers became role models teaching her the trade. Her new-found profession helped fuel many addictions.

“She was always type of person who was drawn to problem people,” said Ms. Bateman. “She was too kind to the wrong people, that was kind of her downfall.”

She had her first glimmer of hope at age 17 when she joined a recovery program and married a construction worker. The glimmer faded five years later when her husband fell to his death at a job site. She plummeted back into her former life.

“She tried and she tried and she tried,” said Heather L., Ms. Palmiere’s Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) sponsor, whose last name cannot be revealed under the conditions of the AA program. “There is no shame in that. The only hurt she did was to herself.”

Using the stage name Lightning Lisa, Ms. Palmiere returned to adult entertainment. She developed a routine involving pyrotechnics and became a well known name in strip clubs throughout eastern Ontario.

Her act eventually found a home in Trenton.

“All she really wanted was love,” Ms. Bateman said. “She found it in a lot of different people.”

Ms. Palmiere’s murder isn’t the first time she faced her fate. An ex-boyfriend told her he planned to kill her during a drive down Hwy. 401 in June, 2008. She jumped out of his moving car.

Ms. Palmiere called this her rock bottom.

She began seeking help for her problems with addiction. She started by attending the At The Crossroads Church.

“An alarm rang out in the pit of hell,” said Sharon Gauthier, a friend of Ms. Palmiere. “Satan was screaming at his demons, ‘You fools. You let Lightning Lisa slip through your fingers’.”

With the help of the church’s Pastor Jacques Blais, she entered AA and retired from her career as an exotic dancer.

“I guided her in a few things,” Pastor Blais said.

The pastor helped her through several relapses. She eventually became a part of the church, referring to the pastor as ‘dad’.

“She was a daughter to me, I lost a part of myself,” Pastor Blais said.

Ms. Gauthier said the congregation was in shock when they learned Ms. Palmiere was murdered.

“My whole body ached, I had to sit down. There wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t hurting,” Ms. Gauthier said.

Heather said Ms. Palmiere’s actions leading to her death were characteristic of how she always treated her friends.

“We used to go to the water and share our hearts and souls,” Heather said. “She helped me more than I ever helped her.”

In her pastor’s eyes, her death was the last step to redemption.

“They may have got her body,” Pastor Blais said. “But they didn’t get her soul.”