Tampa performer Skye has no limits
By Michelle Bearden, Tampa Tribune, Fla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"Just beautiful," recalls the senior pastor at
Turns out, there's a story behind that name.
When Susan, Skye's mother, was in labor, her dad was trying to keep her spirits up. Wayne, ever the wise guy, was grappling with some potential monikers for their third child, starting with the ones that legendary rocker
"How about Moon Unit? How about Dweezil?" he teased her. Susan wrinkled her nose. No way.
So he threw his hands in the air and searched for another. Hey, instead of the moon, how about the sky? Susan broke into a smile. She loved it, and it stuck.
Skye loves that story.
She's 24 now, a studio vocalist based in
And 2013 was a banner year for her, as well. Though Skye vowed never to date a musician, love has a way of changing minds. She married
"It's a bit of an odd pairing," she says, laughing. "Sometimes he's coming when I'm going, so we make the most of our time together."
Later this month,
"I'm living the dream," she says. "It's hard work, and it's not as glamorous as some people might think. But I'm doing what I love. Not everyone can say that."
And other than one loss that can never be replaced in her life, she will tell you just how lucky and blessed she is.
? ? ?
Skye has been singing as long as she's been talking.
It came naturally. She loved music, and loved how she felt when she belted out a song in her strong soprano. Maybe she got the passion from her mom, who sang for fun and modeled for a little pocket change in her youth.
Susan and Wayne gave their daughter encouragement every step of the way, just the way they supported her two older brothers in their endeavors. They didn't push her, Skye says. "It was more like gentle guidance. I knew they had my back, whatever direction I took."
She sang with karaoke machines, she sang with a pretend microphone in front of her bedroom mirror. She sang in church, festivals and recitals. Susan ferried her back and forth to vocal and dance lessons.
"She was always very good," says her dad. "Good compared to what? I don't really have a benchmark to measure her against. I just knew she was good."
Susan, a smart and driven journalism major at the
Put God first, she told the kids. Lean on him. He is always there for you.
The family relocated to
In the meantime, they returned to
Slowly and miraculously, Susan and the kids recovered. Skye regained her strength and started singing again. She made her first demo CD at a recording studio and did a few auditions. In 2003, at age 13, she got to sing before 20,000 people, opening a concert for her favorite band, O-Town. She could feel she was getting close, oh, so close, to getting that big break.
Patience.
And then a mole popped out on Susan's arm. She went to her skin doctor for a checkup. He told her she was fine. A few days later, it got worse. More tests and a grim diagnosis: melanoma.
Though she was a longtime health nut, that didn't matter. Susan's immune system had been compromised by the years of treatment for the Lyme disease. She underwent surgery on her upper arm, and endured rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.
Given the nature of her cancer, Susan's life expectancy was two years. She made it nearly six.
She was 47 when she died on
? ? ?
Losing her mom at age 16 was devastating. In those final months, Skye was always by her mother's bedside in their
She would play worship CDs and hold her mother's hand, feeling the life seep out of her. Though it was too hard to sing, listening to the recorded music gave her comfort. It was the first time she really felt God's presence in the art she had pursued so relentlessly; now it gave her such spiritual solace.
She felt lost and angry after her mom died. But a few weeks later, Skye could hear Susan's voice: Hang on to the pain or hang on to God. She chose the latter.
Skye finished her schooling at
When she was named homecoming queen her senior year, Wayne took Skye shopping for a dress at
"What's wrong, honey? We'll find you a dress," Wayne said.
"It's not that," she cried. "It's just that everyone else is here with their moms."
Susan dreamed of Skye going to
Leaving her dad and brothers back in
Her success doesn't surprise Wayne, not in the least.
"She's driven, she's focused, she makes good decisions, and she keeps her eye on the prize," he says. "Most important, she's got a heart for God and a heart for people. She's so much like her mother."
Wayne has remarried. Margaret, the mother of three boys, is an emergency room nurse at
She isn't through dreaming. One day, Skye says wistfully, she and Blaine will live on a horse ranch in
As for Susan, Skye knows this much. Her mom is always there at her concerts, sitting in the best seat in the house.
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