Former RMN Asst. City Editor

Sandy Graham, wife, mother and journalist, has reached the end of her life story. After bravely battling lung cancer, she died peacefully on Jan. 7, 2024, in Littleton, Colorado. She was 72 and not a smoker.

Sandy considered herself exceptionally lucky in life. She was deeply loved by her husband Blair Johnson, their two children Jaime and Reed and family golden retrievers Rascal and Emmy. She had a wonderful sister and the best in-laws, and over the years cultivated a wide community of friends who supported her in good and trying times. Her career brought her accolades plus opportunities to meet interesting people, travel and continually learn.

She had a passion for music, especially Paul McCartney and The Beatles, a good book, Star Wars and StarTrek, along with all things science fiction. She rode in a hot air balloon twice. She watched coronary bypass surgery and total joint replacements as a medical writer. And she loved unoaked white wine and bleu cheese, especially when consumed together. The West, especially New Mexico, held a special place in her heart. Among Sandy’s hallmarks were her sparkling eyes, a radiant smile, great wit and intellect, a classy style, fun-loving ways, creativity and a deep kindness for all.

Born in Chicago in 1951 to Jane Shreve Graham and William Munro Graham, Sandra Jane Graham grew up in the town of Schererville, Indiana, with her younger sister, Diane. The “Graham girls” inherited their competitive spirit from their father, who played endless board games with them and taught them how to play tennis and throw a baseball — but not “like a girl.” Their mother led Sandy’s Girls Scout troop and made most of her daughters’ clothes, teaching both girls to be respectable seamstresses, too. Every other year, the Graham family vacationed by car. After the family’s first trip, to the YMCA Camp of the Rockies in 1961, Sandy and her sister invariably insisted on vacations “out West.” Soon, New Mexico became a magical place for Sandy. As a preteen she vowed one day to live there. And she eventually did. In her high schools days, Sandy excelled academically and competed athletically on the Lake Central volleyball, basketball and track and field teams — all in an age before Title IX gave girls’ sports equal standing. Encouraged by her best friend Cyndi Hartley, a reluctant Sandy also tried out for school plays as a junior — and loved it. She played an awestruck teen in the chorus of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and a biddy in “The Music Man.” After graduating in 1969 — third in her class of about 240 — Sandy earned a full academic scholarship to Butler University in Indianapolis with plans to study mathematics and perhaps work for NASA. But her plan derailed after she “met calculus.” She transferred as a junior to New Mexico State University, where she’d attended a 1968 high school journalism workshop.

There she graduated in 1973 with bachelor’s degree in journalism with highest honors.

Sandy took great pride in her 40-year writing career, to which she credits her affinity for correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. (She led a life-long crusade against the misuse of apostrophes, particularly in “its” vs. “it’s” and possessives.) Her first job after graduation brought her to The Albuquerque Tribune as a health and medicine reporter. She knew next to nothing about the science and medical fields, but quickly learned the ropes and enjoyed translating medical jargon into understandable English for her readers. In 1979, she returned to the Midwest as a science writer in the Chicago bureau of The Wall Street Journal. But she soon realized she missed the West — and also couldn’t stand her bureau chief. So in 1981, she happily moved west again, this time to Denver to become the Rocky Mountain News energy reporter, then environmental writer and finally assistant city editor. She became lifelong friends with many of her News colleagues, including fellow left-hander and best bud Debbie Frazier. At the News, Sandy was most proud of a series of stories about the troubled operations of Colorado’s only nuclear power plant, Fort St. Vrain. The articles ultimately led the plant’s owner, the Public Service Company of Colorado, to close Fort St. Vrain after the Public Utilities Commission ruled customers should not have to bear its financial burden. In 1984, News colleague and friend Joe Verrengia introduced Sandy to his friend Blair, who worked in media relations for the Mountain Bell phone company (later U S WEST). His roots were in news, too, and when Blair saw Sandy as a panelist on the local PBS news program The State of Colorado, the two men plotted a meet-up. Love blossomed! The couple married in Denver on May 24, 1986. A promotion for Blair in 1988 took the couple to Washington, D.C., and in September that year, they became parents to daughter Jaime Graham Johnson. Son Reed Murphy Johnson would join the family in November 1990. Both children were born on their due dates. After all, a good journalist always meets her deadlines! While in Washington, Sandy’s journalism career brought her to media giant Gannett, where among her many roles, she wrote for the Sunday magazine, USA WEEKEND. The family moved back to Colorado in 1992, where Sandy developed a successful freelance career. For the next few decades, she wrote and edited for numerous local and national publications. She particularly enjoyed serving as managing editor of the Colorado Health Foundation’s quarterly journal, Health Elevations. Her final job before her 2014 retirement was as part-time grant writer for the Children’s Museum of Denver — a position refreshingly free of newsroom politics. Her grant writing helped raise $1.6 million over five years, which helped expand the museum and its exhibits, programming and staff.

Sandy’s pride in her career came second only to the love and pride for her family. She was an incredible and creative mom: reading Harry Potter books and The Lord of the Rings together; helping with school projects; wrangling equipment for Jaime’s high school marching band; playing with Beanie Babies and Polly Pockets; cheering at swim meets, baseball, lacrosse, basketball and soccer games; and making up “Candy Land” stories at bedtime. Perhaps her only parenting regret was not finishing Reed and Jaime’s scrapbooks. Sandy enjoyed traveling with Blair and their children. Memorable trips included South Africa, Scotland (where Sandy’s dad was born), England, the Netherlands, Maine and their beloved Hawaii, where she and Blair honeymooned on Kauai. Going to concerts with Blair was also a delight because he introduced Sandy to artists she’d never considered seeing — from Randy Newman, Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen to Hayes Carll, Tom Rush, Brewer and Shipley, Bruce Cockburn and Livingston Taylor. They saw Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Neil Young , Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris and Jerry Jeff Walker multiple times as well as Steely Dan, Dire Straits, the Doobie Brothers and Steve Winwood. Sandy was a proud member of the National Federation of Press Women for nearly five decades. She was active in the New Mexico, Illinois and Colorado state affiliates and served in several leadership roles, especially in Colorado. The Colorado Press Women named Sandy a “Communicator of Achievement” in both 1997 and 2014 for her professional accomplishments. Sandy also volunteered at low-income elementary schools, zealously promoted recycling through the Zero Waste Gang environmental group in Littleton, chaired Columbine Valley’s Planning and Zoning Commission for 15 years and served as a Democratic precinct organizer in Columbine Valley. She also prioritized fitness through lap swimming, stationary bicycling, yoga, Pilates and strength training. With friend Debbie Frazier, Sandy hiked the entire 70-mile High Line Canal Trail through many county and state parks. She also was a voracious reader and belonged to two book clubs. Her favorite book as a child was Peter Pan. Unfortunately, she never learned to fly and grew up despite everything.

Sandy is survived by husband Blair, children Jaime and Reed, sister Diane Graham, niece Maya Miller, niece Kjirsti Kat, niece Christine Kat, and cousins Jeff Scott and Patty Shreve Brink. Her mother-in-law Elise Murphy Rowe and sister-in-law Beth Johnson and her husband Jan Kat also mourn her passing. She was preceded in death by her mother and father Jane and Bill Graham A celebration of Sandy’s life will be held Saturday, Feb. 17, 5 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Denver. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Sandy Graham Endowed Scholarship Fund, New Mexico State University Foundation, P.O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003-3590. The fund, set up by Sandy and Blair, assists journalism students in need who maintain GPAs of 3.0 or above.