Tracey Noonan

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE SLOWLY ROBBED TRACEY’S FATHER OF HIS MEMORY, OF THE LIFE HE BUILT WITH HIS FAMILY, OF THE RELATIONSHIPS HE FORGED THROUGHOUT HIS LIFETIME. FOR TRACEY, THE DISEASE ROBBED HER OF THE PRIDE SHE SOUGHT FROM HIM THROUGHOUT HER OWN LIFETIME. 

My father Ed, passed away from complications due to Alzheimer’s Disease the Saturday before Easter. Ironically, the day he died was also his 80th birthday.

My relationship with my dad had been rocky to say the least. I was the oldest of three. The only girl.

“My dad refused to send me to college because I was a girl. To say he was a bit behind the times would be an understatement. So imagine the chaos I created when I came home one evening and announced I was pregnant. I was barely 20 years old and not married.”

My mother told me I had to leave the house and that I was a disgrace. My father called me a whore.

I was devastated. My dad was everything to me. As a little girl, I couldn’t wait for him to come home at night. He worked at Polaroid and was one of Dr. Land’s right-hand men. That made me so proud!

My dad was handsome, funny and had a ton of friends. All of whom seemed to have very successful children. My dad would brag about these kids from the other families as if taunting us to keep up with the Joneses, in an academic and business sort of way.

But here’s the irony. By refusing to pay for me to go to school and further my education, he put me in an almost no-win situation. After all … what kind of career does a high school kid pursue in order to stay in the running with these young, upwardly mobile and indulged opponents?

Well … I’ll tell you. 

I managed to start several businesses, on my own while raising kids, on my own.

I was a successful commercial photographer in Boston, working in the advertising industry. I had become a sought-after commodity because of my skill and ability to work with and photograph children.

I bought my first house all by myself. Surely Dad would be proud. Not exactly. Apparently, I bought in the wrong part of town. Not near the country club. I worked even harder to show him what I could do. Well, until digital photography came along …  with no equipment and no computer skills, I was a dinosaur overnight.

Next.

I started and ran an animal talent agency in Boston and worked with all kinds of animal talent for television, print, and the big screen. That is, until it became more of a hassle than it was paying. I don’t think this even qualified in my dad’s mind as a viable career choice. I’m sure he wasn’t bragging about this at the table while out with friends.

Next.

I got my human and equine massage therapy license and worked on riders and their equine partners. Again I was busy but not able to support 4 people. To my father it was another fluff job. Not a career.

Next.

I got my salesperson and then broker’s license to sell real estate. Business was booming until the crash in 2006-2007. Too bad. This was a business he understood and respected. Of course, I didn’t own my own brokerage, so it wasn’t quite good enough. Bummer.

Next.

I got my salesperson and then broker’s license to sell real estate. Business was booming until the crash in 2006-2007. Too bad. This was a business he understood and respected. Of course, I didn’t own my own brokerage, so it wasn’t quite good enough. Bummer.

Next.

I started writing. This I loved. It was creative, liberating, and a way to live vicariously through different people in varying situations. I controlled their universes and their destinies.

Hey, I might have been onto something … but it happened again. Life interrupted. My daughter Dani was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disease. I needed to find a way to spend time with her, to be sure she was okay. And it was because of this, Wicked Good Cupcakes was born.

From 2011 to the present day, I have busted my ass to build what has become a national brand.

We are the largest shipper of cupcakes in the US. We appeared on Shark Tank.In the 9 years after that episode aired, we made more than $35,000,000 in sales. I have been to the NY Stock Exchange. Rung the bell at the NASDAQ. I have been on countless television shows, met amazing people, traveled all over the country. I’ve been a semi-finalist for three years in a row for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. I’m represented by Big Speak in LA and travel all over to speak to aspiring entrepreneurs like myself. I’ve franchised my business. We’ve made the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Businesses for the past two years. The first year we came in at 511. (So close!) Google has chosen Wicked Good Cupcakes to be a part of this year’s Economic Impact Report, representing Massachusetts. I’ve worn the Red Sox World Series rings and have held the trophies. We were the company that Ellen DeGeneres’ team chose to celebrate her 60th birthday with this year. And this past June my business was acquired by brand Hickory Farms for millions. I’m retired (in theory) and have seemingly no worries.

I could literally go on and on.

I bet you’re wondering what Ed thought of all of this? Well. It was all just a little too late.

“My dad had Alzheimer’s Disease. By the time my family figured it out, his mind was compromised.”

We moved both my parents back North from Florida. My husband Scott and I moved my folks into a home we bought, specifically to have the room to care for them. I hired help. We cared for and financially supported them for almost two years. My success allowed this to happen. And my dad never knew.

Last night, while talking to a friend from my early twenties, she reminded me of a time when we were sitting out at Castle Island on a big rock. I was isolated from my family. I had two young kids and not much else.

She told me that out of the blue, I said, “I’m going to be a millionaire someday.” It was totally random. I had no education and no job. My friend MaryAnn said, “I know you will.” I honestly don’t remember that day, but MaryAnn is as straight up as they come, so I believe her. It made me smile.

I thought about that call and what I had allegedly said all night. I woke up thinking about it. Could it be that I wanted success, not only for my dad but for myself and my kids? Don’t forget, my dad wasn’t really a big part of my life anymore.

Maybe I wanted to be successful for reasons other than pleasing my father and competing with the country club kids. Maybe I knew it was something I needed to do for myself. I like to think so.

The lesson learned:wanting success and financial security is a good thing. Wanting success and financial security for approval and love is not.

My success came later in life. But with it came the security and jobs for my family and our awesome (wicked awesome) co-workers. That’s a very good thing.

Funny that I don’t feel like I’ve “made it” yet. I probably never will. The man whose opinions mattered the most to me is gone.

And now that he has returned back “home” and has shed that dreadful disease, maybe he will finally see the good I’ve done and that I am an equal along with everyone else. Maybe he’ll see that money and success don’t make the person. That’s an intangible quality that is innately within.

In looking back, for me, my greatest success was being there for him when he needed me the most. The rest is just the icing on the cupcake jar.

RIP Ed. I love you and miss you like crazy.

Tracey Noonan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes, Inc. along with daughter, Dani Vilagie.

***Wicked Good just recently has been newly acquired by privately held brand, Hickory Farms.

Tracey has been an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist for three years running and is a public speaker, mentor and champion for women owned and operated startups. Tracey also has written a single camera episodic Tv Pilot, with standup comedian friend, Juston McKinney, titled, “What The Family” and two full-length feature films, “Circus Mom” and “Lime Twist,” all three which are being shopped around Hollywood.  Tracey can be followed on her podcast, “Don’t Call me Cupcake” on Apple and Spotify.