James "Jim" Sky

life story

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, relative, friend and/or prophet

James Allen Sky gained his redeemed and righteous admission to heaven at 9:20 pm Saturday, January 23rd. Please rest assured that he knew and felt each and every one of your prayers as did I. Each life is irreplaceable, but we all know what a difference Jim made in our lives and the lives of thousands.

memorial service

Visitation starting at 9:30 am, Followed by Funeral Service at 11:00 am

February 3, 2021

Spiritual Life Church and Bible College 6865 Shingle Creek Crossing, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430, USA

Visitation begins at 9:30 am, followed by the funeral at 11:00 am. The service will be Live Streamed at https://www.slcgrace.com/watch-live/. Interment will immediately follow the service at Roselawn Cemetery. https://www.roselawncemetery.com/

You are welcome to join us following interment (approximately 2:30) for an informal No Host gathering at Perkins. Address: 696 W County Road D, New Brighton, MN. https://stores.perkinsrestaurants.com/us/mn/new-brighton/696-w-county-rd-d.html

James Allen Sky December 27 1943 - January 23 2021

James Allen Sky was born to Julia Rose Sky (Ojibwe Nation) on Bad River Reservation in Odanah Wisconsin (near Ashland). He spent his first two years in an orphanage and then was brought into a lifelong relationship to the Frank and Martha Nabozny family as the last of 13 foster children, who loved him as their own. He loved his life on the farm and had a Catholic upbringing. He was an altar boy. As a child he had several experiences with God - one in a field at age 5 , and another when a Monseigngeur laid hands on his head and said "This one is special. This one is called of God." Jim's life was saved from drowning and from being run over by a truck while he was still small.. by the family dog! Very young in life Jim married his first wife Bernadine Nicoletti and had two girls - Joanne (Jody) and Sandra (Sandy). He worked various jobs at a Tool and Die and later (in Duluth) as a sailor of cargo shipping out of the Great Lakes and around the world. But soon he developed a drinking problem and left home. Eventually he also got hooked on heroin and began a life of crime to pay for his habit. He ended up in prison for 7 years. During this time he would pray to be reconciled to his two children. But when he got out of prison, he resumed bad habits and became a roamer throughout the US, living by his wits. He would pass by missions in Chicago and other cities and always hear the same tune "Softly and tenderly Jesus is Calling..." He would cry, but keep moving. He ended up in Saint Paul MN, picked up by the police 104 times, in and out of treatment centers, and by now living on the street in a cardboard box. One night he had a vision of his casket being carried by six strangers. He cried out, "God, if there is a God, take my life. I don't want to die and I don't want to hurt any more." He got up and walked to the Union Gospel Mission in Saint Paul and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that night in 1982. The tune "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling" was playing at the altar call. He was instantly set free of drugs and alcohol and at the time of his passing had 38 years of total sobriety under his belt. He stayed on living at the Union Gospel Mission but due to the extraordinary changes everyone saw in his life, he soon got a position there and also a position as a police chaplain in St. Paul. Around this time in his life that he met Judy Sky and went into powerful decades of ministry that involved among other things ministering to 65,000 men at a PromiseKeepers meeting, and an affiliation with Billy Graham ministries that brought him to national and international prominence, interviewed on the 700 Club. God brought him back together with his Wisconsin family and spends much time in both Wisconsin and Minnesota with family and friends: hunting, fishing, and ministering to all types of churches including the Native and Indigenous people in Northern or other US states and also Canada, under "His Voice" Ministries. He has ministered in Israel and England. God has used him to raise 3 people from the dead. He has had an accurate ministry as a prophet as thousands can attest. He has spoken into the lives of heads of state and heads of business. But he has never lost his love for winning souls and discipling Christians in their calls, and continued until the end to do so everywhere he went. His phone and his text messages were full every day with people who needed counsel, a word, or just a spiritual father, and he has always managed to treat everyone as unique and special in his eyes and the Lord's. He is the most beloved person many of us know. In 2003, as a single man again, he met Nancy Larson (now Sky), and they struck up a friendship through a mutual friend who attended Spiritual Life Church. Nancy and he were friends for many years but knew they would one day marry and did so in 2013. They have been happily married for 7 too short years. Jim and Nancy often discussed writing a book about his life. It is still something Nancy wants to do; she is hoping that through others sharing stories on pages like this or elsewhere that this is something she can still accomplish. Jim warned many about the year we have just had (2020) as well as of several things to come. His wife believes that his "mantle" will fall in part on many who knew and loved him, also those who stayed with him to the end, so many of whom prayed for him during his final hospitalization. He is with us still in spirit, one Body in heaven and earth. Jim is preceded in glory by his foster parents Frank and Martha Nabozny, as well as foster brothers Leo and Raymond Nabozny. He is survived by his wife Nancy Sky, His two daughters Joanne "Jody" Schwirtz (Franklin) and Sandra Sky Peterson (Gregg Johnson), Grandchildren (Jody's side) Cody, Francesca Jo, Samantha Jo and three great grandchildren plus one on the way. On Sandra's side there are three grandchildren (Scottie, Miranda and Ciara) and two great grandchildren. Jim is also survived by niece and nephew Barbara and Richard Gundarian, along with many grand and great grand nieces, and sister-in-law Susan Larson Wille (Brian).