James Sack
Obituaries
Steamboat Pilot & Today - July 14, 2022
– June 1, 2022
The incomparable Mr. James Wilfred Sack, 74, passed away on June 1st, 2022, of natural causes.
Jim was born December 27th, 1947, in Seneca, KS and grew up on the family farm until 1955 when the Sack family moved to Denver, CO. He attended East High School in Denver before joining the U.S. Navy, where he served in aviation as a metalsmith from 1965-1969. The summer after his discharge from the Navy, Jim was involved in a motorcycle accident on Lookout Mountain, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 22. “It was the hand I was dealt,” he would say “and I’ll make the best of it.” And make the best of it he did. After becoming paralyzed, Jim went on to become the President of the Northwest Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America and the National Director for the Western Slope. He went on to graduate from University of Colorado with a bachelor’s in sociology. He was employed in Routt and Moffat Country as a social worker in the 70s. He also learned to ski, horseback ride, continued to backpack and fish and was featured on TV for sailing a boat. Jim also spent time in Costa Rica working for the Peace Corps. His hobbies included travel, restoring old cars and jewelry work.
Jim was the kind of man who everyone knew. “I make friends easily; I can be in town for half an hour and know everybody if I’m lucky” he once said. He worked to inspire others, to push people to rise above their challenges and face the day, his life will never go unrewarded. He will be remembered as the man whose stories inspired others, whose heart knew no bounds and whose legacy will never be forgotten.
He had no regrets in life. As he would say he “planned to live while dying rather than die while he’s living.” Jim truly lived his own way, following no one’s rules but his own.
Jim is survived by his three brothers, Gerald Sack of Denver, CO, Joseph Sack of Steamboat, CO and Eugene Sack of Eagle, CO; his three nephews Christopher Sack of Steamboat, CO, Timothy Sack of Aspen, CO and Benjamin Sack of Glenwood, CO and one niece, Elizabeth Sack of New York, NY. He is predeceased by his parents Alma and Wilfred Sack. He will truly be missed forever.
There will be a private service for the family in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, the family asks to make donations to Paralyzed Veterans of America.
