Judith "Judy" Sandage (Murphy)

I remember Richard from the classes we were in together and our little chats between classes and after school sometimes.  I always admired him for the way he always was so friendly while being so smart -- never seemd to "lord" his intelligence over anyone and seemed to be very quiet and reserved and yet outgoing at other times.  I know he had a lot of friends at school.  Many years after we graduated I talked for a long time with his dad and not sure why his dad had called but was wonderful chatting with him.  He caught me up with what Richard was doing and how he was living in one of the northern states (Colorado I think he said).  I know I never called him Richard but always "Holcombe" and not sure if everyone called him this or why I started calling him that.  I remember when a friend of mine had a crush on him and we would sit on her grandmother's yard and watch his house down the street and giggle and laugh about things we wanted to say to him the nextday (like young girls do) (but never did say them except the joke we had about him always putting all his lights on around the house whenever he was there alone -- and he would joke back to me about there being ghosts and he was going to be SURE they didn't come out unless he could see them.  Sometimes he would jump out at me in the hallway saying Boo! and I'd ask him why he didn't have any of his lights with him "now" and we'd just giggle and he'd go his way ande I'd go mine, both laughing at our "little joke".)  I always felt bad about dragging him into an incident that occurred which caused me to become so upset I had destroyed my English thesis -- only to find out the person saying they were him and his friends' names on the phone had nothing to do with the harrassment I was getting over the phone (someone kept calling me saying it was him (or one of his friends' names and I didn't know their voices on the phone so just believed it really was them) - anyway they kept calling over and over and over again saying that it was my fault that a friend of mine (an old boyfriend) had died etc -- not sure how they would even have known since I never told anyone about him - but whoever it was really upset me horribly.  Never did find out who did it but still hate that when English teacher asked me the problem I told her and broke down and sheended up calling him into her office.  Hate that I actually believed he could do something so cruel, but realize now because of the "state" I was in I would have believed anything.  Now I realize he was always so sweet and kind that there was no way that it could have been him and hate myself to this day for that problem I caused him.  Hopefully he forgave me a long time ago (but I never have forgiven myself for it to this day).  I am just glad that I had the opportunity to know him.  May he rest in peace forever.