those days fondly. >> we used to go out on the pontoon boat. i remember laying on the front of the pontoon boat with my hands out catching leaves and bugs and seeing who could catch the most in the water. >> melody's stepfather, larry bruce, worked as a driver for roadway trucking. judy was a stay-at-home mom. >> my mom was kind of introverted. she did not really socialize a lot because of her speech impediment. she had a hard time with people understanding what she was saying. >> the speech impediment, the result of a cleft palate, made judy self-conscious, but when she had corrective surgery, her life changed. >> well, she got her driver's license, she had a car, she got a job at mansfield general hospital in housekeeping. she was making friends there. >> judy loved her job at the hospital, but on the morning of november 2nd, 1978, she was too sick to go to work.