Sky Allen McSpadden proudly served in the United States Navy for nine years, based in Jacksonville, Florida. For five of those years, he was stationed aboard the USS Halyburton, a period of service that took him across the world — to places like Greece, Spain, London, Africa, Bahrain and the Seychelles. His recruiter told him he’d see the world, and he did.

Sky deployed three times to Somalia, where he actively engaged in anti-piracy missions. One of his most memorable deployments was in 2009, when the USS Halyburton played a key role in the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips after he was taken hostage by Somali pirates. Sky was also aboard the ship during the filming of the movie “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks — an experience he never forgot.

His time in the Navy gave him a deep sense of pride. But when his sea duty ended and he was assigned to shore duty, things changed. Life behind a desk couldn’t compare to the thrill and purpose he had found at sea. Eventually, Sky made the decision to return home.

After returning, he met the love of his life. Together, they bonded over their shared love of animals. They competed in dog shows, trained dogs at home, and built a life centered on care, companionship and love.

On the morning of April 15, 2024, Sky passed away in his sleep — just days before a trip to Colorado, where he and his wife were to hold their wedding ceremony. His sudden passing left a profound void in the lives of those who knew and loved him.

Sky was not only a sailor, he was an artist at heart. One of his paintings depicted a solitary sailor with his sea bag, preparing to head out to sea. That image inspired a mural now being painted on our building in his honor. It serves as a tribute to his service and a way to keep his spirit alive in our community.

In his memory, we wear bracelets that say “Sky’s the Limit.” Friends and family carry these bracelets on their own travels and adventures, posting and sharing photos wherever they go — continuing Sky’s journey, one memory at a time.

— Karen Hefner, proud Blue Star Mom

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“My parents got divorced when I was about 4 years old. My dad moved to Northwest Houston, but I got to see him a lot. We’d do the weekend thing, and he came to all my games and events.

“When I got my first house, he’d come around all the time. Wanted to know if I was OK. I’m an only child, so my mom and dad always watched out for me.

“Over time, my dad’s health got really bad. He started having eye problems. They told him he had diabetes. He developed kidney issues, so he went on dialysis. We ended up moving in together, and got some help in taking care of him. His vision kept getting worse until he totally lost his sight. It was very frustrating because he was used to being independent.

“One thing he always enjoyed was traveling. Even after losing his sight, he’d want me to drop him off at the bus station downtown. I’d walk him in and make sure he got assistance. He’d go to Dallas. He’d go to Shreveport. He’d visit my cousins in Tyler. He loved being on the road and going to visit people.

“One Christmas about five years ago, I was thinking about something to do. My dad had always wanted to go to New York City. Southwest Airlines had a special, so I set it up. We went to the Statue of Liberty. We went to Times Square. And we went to hear Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall. He was super surprised. It was a great all-around trip.

“The one trip I regret not taking with him was to Mount Rushmore. He wanted to go but I was working a lot then, and I told myself, ‘You’ve got time.’ But my dad died in July 2020.

“My mom is still alive and well. We have something called date night. We’ll go out to eat, or one of us will cook, or I’ll bring some food. We’ll watch a movie or TV show, then I’ll go home. Mom likes to tell people, ‘I get my son on Tuesdays. No matter what.’

“A lot of people wish they would have spent more time with their parents. After they’re gone, they regret not having changed their schedules to make it happen.

“I’ve kept one of my dad’s voicemails. He’s telling me, ‘Hey, I hope you had a great day.’ And that he loves me. I listen to it every once in a while. It’s nice to hear that voice. It helps keep his memory alive.”

— David Battise

David continues traveling on his own and with friends. “I’ve met a lot of cool people that I’m close with to this day, almost like family. Some people see all my trip photos on Facebook and say, ‘Hey, do you ever work? I want your job.’ I decided that life’s too short. You’re never sure when you’re going to leave this place. So if you want to go somewhere, you need to take the time to do it.”

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“When I was 11, my aunt told me that the man I always thought was my dad was not my real dad. I was devastated. I couldn’t believe that a family could hold secrets like that from me.

“I went crazy. I remember screaming and yelling at my mom. I started getting more and more angry. It just kept building up inside me. I would get into fights at school. I was out of control. I was just so mad all the time.

“I was like that until I was about 22. The girl I was with at that time helped me. She kept me out of the suicide mind path that I was on. I tried hanging myself. I just got tired of life. I got tired of not getting the respect that I felt I deserved and the love from my mother that I needed.

“I’ve tried to find my biological dad. I know his name. But there are so many people out there with the same name. It got to the point where I was like, man, I don’t want to keep going through this. I don’t want to keep searching. To this day, I’ve never met him. I’m hoping that one day he might appear. One day he might show his face. Although I’m not really sure how I would react or what I would do. To me, my stepdad is my dad. He’s always going to be my dad, no matter what.

“And now I’m with someone I’ve known for 10 years. We’ve been together going on two years. She has two sons, and she’s an amazing mom. She tries her best for those boys.

“The oldest knows his dad, and he puts good effort into seeing him and being in his life. The youngest doesn’t know his dad. I tell him, hey, I know I’m not your real dad. But I’m here. If you want to look at me as your dad, I’ll try to be that for you. They both call me dad. It feels good. They’re not mine by blood. But in my eyes, they’re my sons.

“I might get mad sometimes if they’re being bad or they don’t listen. But I try to let them learn from their mistakes. I’ll say, look, I used to be just like this. So don’t do this. I want them to understand. Not just go through life, not knowing what’s right and what’s wrong.

“I’m glad I get to experience that. It’s not always pretty, not always perfect. But it’s good to be there for them. Be there and try.”

— Carlos “C-Los” Caldera Jr.

“I go by C-Los. I don’t like my name, Carlos. When someone calls me that, I’m like, where’s he at? Because it’s my biological dad’s name. If it’s true that he never put any effort into it, I don’t want to carry that name. It hurts me to have it. It makes me think every day like, who is he?”

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“I worked for a while at the hospital as a CNA [certified nursing assistant]. When I had my youngest son, I started staying home. I was working 12-hour shifts. But I decided that him being successful was more important. I wanted to make sure he stayed on the right path throughout school. I wanted to keep him from drifting off into doing bad things. I felt as long as I was able to stay on him and keep him occupied, like playing sports, it would be better than some kid out there doing mischievous things and getting into trouble.

“I had just been through it with my older son. He had a few problems. He kind of stepped off into the wrong direction. He ended up doing a little time. But he’s changed his direction and his ways. He’s doing OK now. My daughter’s also doing well. She had her first baby, who’s 8 months old and very spoiled. I’m extremely proud of my kids.

“I went through some challenging times, overcoming drugs and being an addict. The turning point was when my best friend for years was murdered. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. He was walking away from a situation, and they shot him four times. It was a life-changing moment. I figured that could easily have been me. I’ve been sober for five years now. It’s a struggle every day. My kids are what keep me going.

“My youngest son lives with his dad. He was in high school when we separated. Because I didn’t want to disturb his stability, I told him he should stay with his dad. He was pretty upset.

“But he’s a senior now. He’s a very smart kid. And he loves football. He’s played it all his life. He’s hoping to get a college scholarship. He’s got some scouts looking at him. He wants to be able to play on Saturdays. After that, he wants to play on Sundays in the NFL. He’s really motivated.

“While I’ve made some mistakes along the way, I’ve never regretted leaving that nursing job. If I didn’t, my son might not be in the position he’s in today.”

— Rachel Rayon

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“I see the question all the time: what do you want to be when you grow up? But I tell my son, that’s the wrong question. It should be: what do you want to be now? Your mind is going to keep changing as you get older. So it’s best if you try different things and experience as much as you can as you’re growing up.

“My parents were very encouraging like that with me. So I try to be the same way with my son. He runs triathlons. He does taekwondo. He plays music. He creates videos with Legos. He likes wildlife photography. So we’ve gone to Yellowstone, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico, all over, and he takes pictures along the way.

“He’s always reading and writing on these road trips. And he loves writing stories. He kept at it until one day he said that he’d actually like to write a book.’ I told him, ‘If you do, I’ll help promote it.’ He started the book before the pandemic, and he finished it last year. I helped with editing, and we hired an illustrator. The book came out in April. It’s called, ‘The Prophecy of Three.’

“I’m so proud of him. I asked him, ‘Do you know how old I was when I wrote my first book?’ He said, ‘How old, 50 or 60?’ I said, ‘No, baby, I never wrote a book.’ So it’s quite an accomplishment.

“He writes for fun, and he’s really into it. But tomorrow it could be something else, which I think is great. I want him to do whatever interests him. I don’t try to influence him.

“I don’t know what he’ll end up doing in life. But for now, whatever he wants to do, I just try to be supportive and show him the way. He keeps suprising me. I hope he stays that way. I hope he keeps on surprising me with the path that he chooses for himself.”

— Armando Toledo

Ozzie Toledo, 12, is entering seventh grade at Cedar Bayou Junior School. His book is available on Barnes and Noble. The illustrator, Zach Zellars, is also from Baytown.

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“My dad is from a family of 12 in Matamoros, Mexico. There were six women and six men. But my grandpa would always bring my father to go cut grass, track cows, trench out ditches — anything that had to do with the ranch. Sun up to sun down. Through the years, he came to realize that my grandpa was teaching him the value of hard work. If you have nothing else, you know you can always go to work and make things happen.

“My father has been involved in construction for years. He’s gone from industrial to commercial, wherever the work takes him. He’s always been a hands-on, hard-working man. If he doesn’t know how to do something, he learns. That’s something he’s passed on to me. He says, ‘Son, you’ve got to be wise. You’ve got your hands and your feet, and you’re smart. Try it. If it doesn’t work out, just relax, take a second look, and find a different way to try again.’

“In Spanish he says, ‘No pasa nada,’ which means ‘nothing happens.’ That’s a good way to approach life, whether it’s how to do something at work or how to interact with others. Sometimes you run into difficult people. But you’ve got to find a constructive way to speak to them and work with them. If one way doesn’t work, no sweat. No pasa nada. Think of a different way to handle the situation and try again.

“I’ve learned so much from my dad, just like he learned from his father. I love my last name. I just want to make a difference, like he has, and honor my family legacy.”

— Louis Soria

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“Not married. I have one son. He’s 6. It’s great. It’s a life-changing experience.

“I’m trying not to force too much of the world on him right now. I don’t want him to be worried about all the stuff we have to worry about as adults. I like kids to actually be kids.

“There are a lot of kids having kids these days. Sometimes, I don’t think they get to live that kid life like I did. I grew up around a lot of older people. My great-aunt and my great-grandmother are the people who raised me. And I actually got to be a kid.

“I’ve always enjoyed being out in nature. So I’m trying to get my son away from electronics, and go outside to do things like ride bikes and horses, and to fish. I’ve been fishing since I was about 6. My great-aunt taught me, and it stuck. It’s kind of like my meditation. It’s a good way to relax, to get away from the world. Just you and the water. I’m hoping I can pass that along to my son.”

— Demond Carson

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(2 of 5) “The police knocked on my door to tell me that my sister had been murdered and that they were looking for my nephew. They didn’t say he had done it. I was devastated. All I knew was that my sister was dead and my nephew was missing. So to find out when they did locate him that he confessed, I can’t even describe the feelings. It’s like your entire world comes crashing down.

“It’s conflicting because while you don’t want to see your nephew locked up for the rest of his life, he took somebody that was so precious to you. I was very close to my nephew. I still love him. That will never change. But I miss my sister every day. And knowing her, she would tell me, ‘Don’t have my son locked up.’ She would never have wanted that for him. In fact, her last words to him, after he had stabbed her, were, ‘Baby, everything’s going to be OK.’ Even while she was dying, she kept trying to reassure him. That’s just the person she was.

“I lost a lot of family over the trial. Not everyone understood why I was fighting against my nephew. But they hadn’t talked to him or been around him when he started going downhill.

“As hard as it was, I would rather have fought alone for something I felt in my heart was right than to have caved under the pressure. That’s why I continued to fight for 4 1/2 years. I felt it was the right thing to do.”

— Betty Simons

Chance Moseley was 14 when he killed his mother, Nita Moseley, and her unborn child in 2015. He was tried as an adult in 2020, and received a life sentence for capital murder.

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“I was 26 years old. It was my first pregnancy. I was healthy. I was athletic. Then it just happened. They told me, ‘Your cervix is gone.’ I had what’s called an incompetent cervix. It can lead to premature birth or losing your baby.

“They kept me in the hospital, head down and feet up, for two days. I was almost at six months. If they could get me to at least seven months on bed rest, my son could be born and possibly still live. But he would run the risk of cerebral palsy and some other things.

“I’ll never forget. After that conversation with the doctor, I was lying in the hospital bed and watching a Lakers game on TV. And I prayed. I was like, ‘God, I’m not sure if I’m strong enough at this point in my life to deal with a child with special needs. If my baby is going to be that, I don’t want him to suffer. So just do what you have to do.’ An hour later, my water broke and I went into labor. I delivered a beautiful 1-pound, 10-ounce baby boy. He breathed for just a moment, and that was it.

“It was heartbreaking. Initially, it was hard to come to grips with. One of the things I did was write about it in a poem called ‘Only Begotten Son.’ And when I would share things with people, they told me how much hearing what I had gone through helped them. I ended up publishing that poem in a book of poetry.

“Because of losing my son and other things I’ve gone through in life, I’ve been able to speak to other women and breathe life into other mothers. My son made me who I am. It’s a daily struggle. But it’s a beautiful journey.”

— Raquel Segura

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“All of our kids have kind of been accidents. Our first one, we were still sort of dating when I accidentally got pregnant. We were like, well, are we ready to go through with this and do the whole shebang? We decided to see if we were still compatible after being pregnant and having the baby. It went well. Archer was born, and we did great together. We ended up buying a house, still not married. We bought cars, still not married. All that stuff.

“Then we were like, OK, we’re not going to get pregnant again for a while. What happens? We end up getting pregnant. Our second, Judah, was 14 months apart. People were like, you’re crazy for doing this again so soon. But I was like, man, we’re going to be fine. We got this. We are totally ready for parenting and everything. And we decided, OK, we’re going to be really careful and not get pregnant again. But we did.

“Archer and Judah were normal pregnancies. And everything was fine the third time, until our three-month ultrasound. They found a bright speck where the kidney would be. The doctor said not to worry, but we’re going to follow up and do this genetic bloodwork to make sure everything’s in order. It came back, and it was good. It was normal. We also learned we were having another boy.

“Then came the five-month ultrasound. It’s the anatomy one where they look at all the organs. It’s also where you officially see the gender for the first time. We brought our boys. We thought it would be a blast. We’d introduce them to their new brother. But the ultrasound tech was really quiet. Not as perky as usual, which was strange. And it was a long ultrasound. Obviously, it was because they were seeing some things that were abnormal. When she said, ‘I’m going to get the doctor,’ we were like, oh shit, something’s really wrong.”

— Marilyn Heredia

Their baby, Oliver, had a lower urinary tract obstruction. The rare birth defect is a blockage in the urethra, which carries urine out of the bladder and into the amniotic sac. Urine was backing up to the kidneys, and a fetal procedure to drain the urine didn’t work.

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