A little more on Albert Temple
8 years ago
It's taken me a few days to be able to sit down and write a farewell to Al. Like many people in the fandom, we were close and his death was shocking and a very hard hit. I've spent the past few days in a haze, knowing he's gone but still some part of me hoping beyond hope that somehow this is all a huge understanding and he'll come back from some business trip and reassure everyone he's ok.
I first met Albert back in 1997, my first year in the furry fandom. I was 17 and dealing with a great deal of emotional abuse in my home life, and one of my escapes was drawing cartoon animals. I'd come up with a lop rabbit character based on a pet of mine named Trixi, as well as a hyper little African pygmy hedgehog named Haley, and I would draw and RP these characters on IRC. Albert was someone whose art I'd discovered through what was at that point called the SCFA, and I worked up the nerve to email him and tell him what a fan I was. To my delight, he responded warmly, welcoming me to the fandom and encouraging me to apply to SCFA, which later became Yerf.
Al, known by his genial cat character, Gene Catlow, wasn't one to put on airs. He genuinely loved meeting people, encouraging them and acting as a cheerleader. He was not only a driving force for creativity, but for camaraderie, as he was fond of drawing responses for everyone who reached out to him or drew his character. He really was one of the reasons that Yerf took on the interactive community feel that it did; he loved tag-teaming with other artists to create round robin stories through art, often letting others take the lead and then building on whatever plot points they came up with. His ideas were silly and out-of-the-box, but never mean-spirited. He was the creator of the Time Wrinkle collaborative story on Yerf, which later ended up inspiring Arty's Guardians stories, which in turn led to what would become Vinci & Arty. He was responsible for bringing many Yerfers together. If it weren't for Gene, I wouldn't have met other beloved friends, like

Gene was able to recognize what was going on with my home life, and he and Thomas often got together with me and provided much needed distractions and support. He was one of the biggest cheerleaders for


I was never Trixi or Vinci or even Candy to him; he always called me "dear" or "SuperMom", and I always called him Geners. It was humbling how much confidence he had in me, especially with how little I had in myself, but he was like that. He always believed the best in you, and he always -wanted- the best for you. He was everyone's cheerleader. He made you want to live up to the person he saw you as.
He was there for so many milestones. When I moved back east to be with Arty, he was there to help load the moving van. When we got married, he was one of our groomsmen. He was there when we moved back to the bay area, and the day after I had Valentine, he came to visit us in the hospital. We saw him frequently at cons and get-togethers, and he would drop by just to keep us company whenever I was laid up on the couch during my time on chemotherapy. Sometimes we'd get a flurry of art done during a get-together, other times we just chatted and joked around. Most of the time, we'd go to a local Mexican chain down here that he loved called El Grullense.
Many of his fans and friends had an inkling something was wrong when Gene Catlow didn't upload last week and they were correct. Geners was proud of his long-running webcomic, which he never, ever missed an update for. He had the story all plotted out, with plans to focus on smaller stories in-universe after the main story was complete. Gene Catlow ran from 2000-2017 without a single missed update until last week. That's a pretty amazing feat!
For the folks who didn't know Gene, I'd recommend going through his Yerf historical archive located here: https://yerf.metafur.org/tempalbe You can see how warm a person he was through his pictures and descriptions, and none of it was an act. He was completely genuine in how humble and warm he was, and how much he loved everyone. In the 20 years I've known him, I never once heard him talk bad about anyone. In person, he seemed to constantly have the energy of someone at least a third his age, always smiling and even bouncing excitedly. He never drank caffeine, and we joked that it's because he never needed it, he was that naturally energetic.
I remember we ended up having the same flight home from Anthrocon 99, and we made sure to get seats next to each other. Neither of us were comfortable flying, and so we spent the flight joking and distracting each other. At one point, I smelled what I thought was smoke and started to fret, and I remember him turning to me and saying, "Dear, if the plane is on fire, it's not going to SMELL LIKE BACON." Turns out they were just getting breakfast ready!
What do you say to someone to whom you owe so much, who left far, far too soon? Thank you doesn't seem like enough, but Al, thank you so much. Thank you for watching out for me, for believing in me, for encouraging me, both in good times and bad. For seeing the good in me when I had a hard time seeing it for myself. Thank you for the joy you brought, not only to our family but to everyone. Thank you for being an inspiration with your kindness and love. I wish you were still here with us, but I'm forever grateful to have known you and you will never be forgotten. I love you, my dear friend.
Best quote ever.
I can only think the best way to Honor Albert would be to practice being Nice. in his memory. what does anyone else think of that?
And Al? Al would be making friends with the Devil Himself, wanting to hear his side of things.
-- Lia
If i had to pick a one favorite pic by him that i can remember was a picture he made in response to a fur named Fauxx who attempted to give him an inflated head (i assume he meant ego) and how that such a task was an impossibility. The pic shows Gene himself holding a hissing air hose smiling at Fauxx explaining how impossible it would be to swell his head and down below his feet were 4 times their size! I liked this piece , partly cuz i like paws but mostly because of the truth in his word. He never reached that level of popufur-ality that we see alot of today. Hes always been a down to earth guy despite how well known he was.
I think the best way i can think of describing Genes legacy is this, my take on an an exerpt by Orson Wells, from the Dean Martin Roast of Jimmy Stewart regarding the actors's career. The fandom is like a forest, most of it is made up various plants and shrubs and trees, many of which have their moments in the sun where they bloom and show off their colors and patterns, yet dont seem to sustain, and end up closing back up and often withering away. The fandom has seen many of these moments. A legacy like Gene's is an evergreen tree. Rain or shine, it kept growing, with a beauty and purpose that never, has not, and probably never will die, something always seen in Gene's art and interactions with others, something which will be around when all the brief fads and fancies are long gone.
Gene was the Jimmy Stewart of the fandom!
Here's to you, Mr. Temple. I made the mistake of never reaching out and speaking to you, but the world was a lot softer with you in it.
May his kindness live on in all of our hearts.
Same here...it will take a long time to get over this feeling. -_-;
Great post btw...it just adds to how awesome he was.
Thank you for posting this. I'm very sorry you lost such a wonderful friend. (The bacon plane story made me laugh.)
This is such sad news. When I first heard about it, I couldn't believe it.
I know how dear he was to you and so many others. May he rest in peace.