Barbara Kreisel Unruh, 1959-2009: Loyola University radio host loved English rock
By Sally Ho | Tribune Reporter
July 6, 2009

Barbara Kreisel Unruh was 41 when she found a career as "DJ Barb Wire."

Fed up with the mainstream music heard on Chicago radio stations, the mother of two got connected with Loyola University's independent community radio station, WLUW-FM 88.7. She hosted the overnight show "Across the Pond and Beyond," because "she couldn't find a radio station she liked," said Craig Unruh, her husband.

The radio station's Web site calls her a legend, noting "we are heartbroken to see her go."

Mrs. Unruh, 49, died Monday, June 29, at her Evanston home surrounded by family. She battled advanced lung cancer for almost two years.

Her radio show typically aired from 2 to 6 a.m., and she quickly became well-known in the ranks of Chicago's independent music scene, her husband said.

As a night owl, Mrs. Unruh loved her radio gig, often paying homage to vampires because of the shift she worked. As a music lover, she liked to be able to play her kind of music. She plugged English rock bands like Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs before their commercial successes on this side of the pond.

Craig Unruh said his wife always felt connected with English culture, having studied at an American school in London and at Oxford University for a year. She hitchhiked across the United Kingdom a few times during the 1970s, once even persuading her future husband -- then her classmate -- to join her.

The daughter of an art teacher father and school psychologist mother, Mrs. Unruh graduated in 1982 from the State University of New York in Buffalo with a degree in creative writing before moving to Chicago to marry in 1991.

Daughter Briana Unruh, 16, said she remembers her mother as the "cool mom" who loved to entertain, cook Spanish tortillas and spend time with family.

"She always had this spirit to her. She loved life. She was full of life," Briana Unruh said.

Mrs. Unruh is also survived by her son, Julian Austin, and brother, Paul Kreisel.

A tribute show aired Thursday and is available on wluw.org. A memorial concert is planned for August.

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