While Vicki Dibble was in the care of Our Lady of Peace (OLP) in January of 2022, she gave a vote of confidence to her daughter as a final gift. While sitting at her mother’s bedside, filling out the paperwork to turn her love for candle making into a business and registered LLC, Jackie Hicks got the encouragement she needed to sign the papers. Just two months after Vicki’s passing, Jackie launched The Goodside Company website, rooted in happy memories of her mother’s love for candles, the gift Jackie gave her every Christmas. “My mom was proud of everything her kids did and always supported us,” she says. She sensed how excited I was about my candle business, and her support pushed me forward.”
The meaning behind The Goodside
“Growing up, mom always told me I should stay on her good side, but it was also hard for me to see the good side of life, and losing her made it harder,” Jackie explained. “But I felt blessed by the time we had together at OLP, and relationships within my family strengthened while we were there. The experience made me realize that you have to notice the good to get through the bad. You have to look at the good side.”
Candles of remembrance
Jackie Hicks’s hand-poured soy candles can now be found at the Argyle Moose in Hugo,
Bella Maria Boutique in White Bear Lake, Pineapple Girl in Anoka, and the Black Cabin in Osseo. They’re also available for purchase on her website. And her popular hockey puck candles have caught the eye of Twin Cities hockey moms. “A sporting goods store in Lino Lakes now sells them,” she says humbly. With a commitment to do good, Jackie donates a portion of her profits to Minnesota non-profit organizations, and we are grateful to her for making OLP the first recipient.
Jackie’s stepdad, Gary, is also a recipient of a special gift. “My stepdad hated candles because he was allergic to the smell, but because I only use quality oil in my candles, luxe wax, and coconut soy, the scent no longer bothers him, says Jackie. “They also have lead-free wicks, no carcinogens, and are toxin and phthalate (chemical) free, so they burn clean. Now, he calls and says, ‘I need more candles,’ and I ship them to him. I think he is finding comfort in something
he knows my mom loved.”
Jackie still struggles with her mom’s absence. “My mom has always been my person, so I feel
a weird emptiness inside. My business is a way of filling the emptiness.” With her supportive husband, Justin, and two daughters, Savannah and Kylie at her side, she says she is blessed.
“I think of my mom every day. And I’m so happy she was in the care of OLP. “The staff did everything they could to keep my mom comfortable, including a spa bath and delivering a chocolate malt upon request, within 15 minutes. Those people are angels on earth.”