Life-long Dublin resident Vickie Bamber has not always had an easy life, but throughout all her challenges she’s remained a devoted mother, wife and community member. In addition to raising three children, Bamber has owned two antique stores in town, and served the public for seven years at the Dublin Dairy Queen. This year will be her last at DQ, because Bamber is leaving the job to start her next venture: hosting painting parties for the Dublin community.
Bamber was a member of the Dublin High School class of 1989, but left school when she was 15 because she became pregnant and needed to focus on raising her young daughter. That same year, Bamber met her husband, Bill Bamber.
“He had a daughter and I had a daughter, and they were four months apart, and one night, he brought me baby clothes for my daughter,” she said. “We went on our first date, and about six months later, we got married.”
This year, the Bambers are celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary.
After getting married, Bamber focused on raising the couple’s two daughters. She also continued her education. “I had two little girls that were four months apart, and I went to night school for two years with both of them in tow,” she said. “I got my GED, and then all I did was raise my babies.”
When her children were around 7, Bamber went to work at Wendy Allen’s saddlery for around 2.5 years. “I ran her office for her,” Bamber says.
Bamber and her husband also started their own business, an antique store in town. She enjoyed running the shop, but after several years her husband became sick, and they had to sell the business. They tried again with another antique store a few years later, but it eventually became too much to keep up with.
For the past seven years, Bamber has been working at the Dublin Dairy Queen. She usually clocks in around 6 am, and works as long as she is needed. She enjoys getting to greet and chat with Dublin residents at work.
When she’s not working, Bamber loves to craft. She often wakes up at 3 or 4 in the morning to get some crafting in before work. She makes custom cups, prints t-shirts and paints. Her passion for crafting led to her current business venture: hosting painting parties.
“A paint party is where you pay to come and paint,” she said. “All your supplies are furnished and your image is furnished, and you go by the instructions. I do mine before you, so I can show you a little bit how I did my coloring and stuff. It’s usually a bunch of ladies that get together and paint a picture and see how we do.”
Bamber plans to host her first paint party in mid September (to sign up, contact bambercreations@ yahoo. com).
In the past year, Bamber has also been focusing on her health. “I have a liver disease, and about a year ago I decided I would stop eating sugar and starches, and I lost 74 pounds and started taking better care of myself and trying to live life a little better,” she said.
Throughout her life, Bamber has found inspiration in her family. “I’ve lived my whole life for my kids and my grandkids and my husband,” she said.
She and her husband have one son together, Levi, 32, and her husband has a daughter, Heather, 40, from a previous relationship. Bamber has several grandchildren, four of whom live in Dublin, and is looking forward to spending more time with them in coming years.
In 2016, Bamber’s daughter Kayla passed away. Kayla would be 39 this year. Losing Kayla was the greatest challenge of Bamber’s life.
“My greatest obstacle was learning to accept it, but also learning to take time to grieve for her,” she said. “Life gets so busy that you just go into auto mode and you don’t ever stop. And whenever I finally started focusing on myself last year, I finally had time to grieve.”
Bamber’s advice to Dublin graduates is to just keep going. “Life is a lot harder now,” she said. “Trust in God and try to do the best you can, and that’s all you’ve gotta do.”
Where are they now chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@ dublincitizen. com.