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the Lockport Legend | January 25, 2018 | 9
Former Lockport resident, longtime
Marley Candles owner passes on
T.J. Kremer III
Contributing Editor
It seems some people begin
life with a natural tendency
to shuffle around this
Earth, constantly in search
of the next adventure or
challenge to occupy their
time here. And so it was
with John Fixari, the longtime
owner of Marley Candles,
before he died Dec. 25.
The oft-traveled Fixari —
who, at various times, has
called New Lenox, Lockport,
Minooka and Stark,
Florida, home — claimed
careers in construction, the
bar industry, horesery, the
hotel industry and trailer
park owner, not to mention
a tour in WWII as a Navy
pilot and flight instructor,
and, later, a private flight
instructor.
“He had never been not
self-employed; he had a
hard time working for other
people,” said Fixari’s
daughter, Nancy Fixari,
who now runs Marley Candles.
The late Fixari purchased
Marley Candles in
1979, just after his stint as
a hotel owner in Florida. At
first, the idea was it would
make a nice way to enjoy
retirement, Nancy said.
But that quickly changed
as John poured his typical
go-all-the-way attitude
into the business by building
additions to the store,
“re-inventing the wheel”
by coming up with faster,
more efficient ways to produce
candles, and adding as
many as 16 employees in
the early ’90s.
“In the beginning, it was
manageable, it was fun,”
Nancy said. “... Then things
started to grow and grow,
and we had to have a lot
more employees … And my
parents were very adverse
to hiring more people; let’s
just work harder.”
And work harder he did,
shattering any idea of an
easy retirement with his
quest to produce more and
more candles.
“My dad would tell me
and my sister, ‘You kids ruined
the business,’” Nancy
jokingly said, laughing as
she fondly recalled memories
of her father.
But that strong work ethic
was seemingly just what
John’s nature was: Even in
post-retirement, John felt
the need to have a “hobby,”
and so in March when he
moved into Clarendale of
Mokena he began painting
WWII planes.
Nancy said she has
thought about selling Marley
Candles in order to give
the business a new generation
of life to keep it going,
but, so far, people seem to
shy away once they discover
how much work is actually
involved.
And so the business will
stay with Nancy for the
foreseeable future. And
John now finally gets that
retirement he so richly
earned.
John Fixari, a former Lockport resident and longtime owner
of Marley Candles, died Dec. 25. Photo submitted