A tragic loss
Anthrocon is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Patrick "Furp" Reed, who was killed February 18 by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle. Furp was a well-loved member of Anthrocon's staff, a trained medic who was always first to respond when someone needed help. He will be missed by all those who knew and worked with him, and remembered with fond gratitude by the many who felt his reassuring hand when they were hurt.
EDIT: A LiveJournal community in memory of Furp has been created. Those with stories or pictures of our friend are invited to visit and share their memories.
EDIT2: Reports have come in that the driver who hit him may not indeed have been impaired and that the accident was nothing more than a tragic circumstance.
He was 33 29. I understand that the driver who struck him is in custody. My personal desire is to see him burned alive, but I believe that Furp himself would say, "Go easy on him."
His birthday was 11/8/1979 according to his mum. *Mistyped the month/day*
Mike
Revenge is not the answer. As much as we may hate the man who did this, its not our place to judge him. Having thoughts of strong hatred does not help with the greiving.
Mike
sory about this comment i can ahead of myself
Sad, indeed. From everything giza told me of him on the train, Furp was a really special guy, and losing him in an incident this senseless has got to be particularly hard for his family. I'll try and hold them in my thoughts, as well as the guy who caused this awful mess (he's gonna need all the help he can get to make up for this).
Furp was a fine gentleman and will be greatly missed.
I wonder if this is going to turn out to be another of the cases I hear about all too often where the guy was driving with a suspended license already, or had several DUIs but got his license back anyway.
That happens all the time in Jersey, and you hear about it when they end up killing someone.
The punishment for DUI needs to be much more severe. :/
HEre is the news article, please take a deep breath before clicking:
http://www.insidesocal.com/news247/2009/02/motorcyclist-killed-in-twentyn.html
- Kasi
Furp demonstrated the very best that a person could be. He was always willing to help others, gave up his own time when a medical sitaution occurred, and was there as a shoulder to lean on or a calm voice to talk to when someone needed it.
Not only will con ops not be the same, but I think for the entire convention, it will feel like there is a now a void that we just can't ever fill. Furp also had ideas for panels and programming. He wanted people to be social, and he always looked to make new friends.
Godspeed my friend....wherever you are now, you're making it a better place.
What a senseless way for such an incredible person to have to leave us...and that's from someone who cheats the reaper with good equipment and training nearly every day.
Furp and I have known one another for over a decade now and had just started building a face to face friendship over the last few years.
It sucks to feel like this. It wasn't some medical affliction; that I can rationalize in a positive way. Furp, Patrick, was stolen from us by dumb chance and poor judgment. Something as minuscule as a few seconds during a regular commute to work; the decision between stopping for a yellow light rather than blowing through it.
Con ops is going to be pretty subdued this year as his absence will be more than painfully obvious. I will miss him as much as most of you are, so I'm in good company.
Fair winds and following seas shipmate and friend...and thank you for everything!
Swift Fox
Table-top Gaming Track Head
Anthrocon 2009 "OMG Aliens!"
July 2-5 - Pittsburgh, PA
www.anthrocon.org
I definetely agree with the harsher punishments for drunk driving. The people who do it have no idead just how stupid they are. I feel awkward since I only started getting on here yesterday, but I know premature death far too well- my dad died when I was 2 from what shortly after became a recalled heart medication.
I did not know him personally, but I always knew he was a truly good person merely by watching him go out of his way to help so many people. He always seemed so positive.
My sincere condolences to his family and to the many, many friends he leaves behind. He was taken from us far too soon.
Rest in peace, Patrick.
A terrible loss to the furry community. A fur, a gentleman, and a friend to many.
My sincere condolences go to his family.
As already said, ConOps won't be the same without him.
It should also be noted Furp was known by some as Fire_Pyro, and will be sorely missed on TigerMUCK 
Darkclaw T Wolf Esq.
AC Staffer 10 Years
Internet Room
The best thing thing to do is remember him for what he stood for and how he helped others. May god be with his family and friends
I only met furp 1 time at AC , He seemed to be a great person
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to all those who have had the opprotunity to have known such a decent person .
Rest in peace my friend , you will be sadly missed
I never met him, but by going others' words about him, I'm sorry I never had the opportunity. My heart goes out to his family.
I never had the the honor of meeting furp, or the priveledge, and it seems I missed out on meeting a wonderfull person with a big heart and gentle attitude. My deepest condolences to not only his family, but also to the many who held him as a close friend.
I have to admit, Ive only heard of him a few times and knew little about what he really does. But after reading that article and seeing what he does for AC and being in the medical corps... all I gotta say is... sweet Jesus. A great guy who poured his heart and soul into helping save human lives, served his country overseas in the harsh terrain of Iraq, and helped structured one of the finest furry conventions out there only to unfairly have his life taken away at the expense of some jackass wanting to drink... thats just wrong... Very wrong. My prayers and thoughts do go out to those who knew him very well and were deeply affected about it. Id like to think though that while his physical being is gone, his spirit will always remain. I also hope that from this tragedy that people will especially consider watching their drinking and take the appropriate precautions from now on. This kind of news makes you wanna put the beer and whisky away for awhile...
One thing Ill need to ask; What will happen to AC now that Furp is no longer with us?
I live in Texas, the home state of George W. Bush. I apologize.
One thing Ill need to ask; What will happen to AC now that Furp is no longer with us?
As with others we have lost in the past, we shall mourn, we shall grieve, we shall remember, and we will continue to have the sort of convention that we wish they could have seen just one more time. There is no other course of action. We shall have a great con without Furp, but will think sadly, here and there in the quieter moments, how much better it would have been with him.
--Chi
I don't remember speaking with him,though i may have just that it was last year and so many staff members and volunteers to recall.
My sincerest condolences and may he rest in peace and his memory perpetuated in our hearts.
For the rest of us let this be a lesson for how fragile life is and always exercise good judgements.
The secret is in you.....
Carpe Diem my friends.
Don't wait another minute to tell your friends you love them. We know not the time nor the hour of when our time is up.
And now I quote my favorite song, Illusions by VNV:
Please don't go, I want you to stay, I'm begging you please, please don't leave here, I don't want you to hate for all the hurt that you feel, this world is just an illusion trying to change you...
I was listening to this song today, and I thought about Furp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53sCut6XxZE
Even though I didn't know Furp, my heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy in the furry community.
The Tiger on this badge is me, but the dragon in it was Furp. It's the first badge i ever had commissioned. I picked it up at my first con, AC last year, which was also my first, and now only, opportunity to meet Patrick "Furp" in person. I've known him for a couple years now via IRC and IM, but had hoped to get to know him better in person. Like many others thus far, I can barely imagine going to AC this year and not having him there, and I hardly even knew him. The world has truly lost one hell of a person.
As much as I would like to say I am sad for his passing, I can't because 1. I do not know them, and 2. I don't show emotions towards those that die or those that are born.
An odd thing yes? Even when my own mom died I never cried or showed sorrow for it. TO me the way I see it, we'll all die regardless, we should think about others for only a short time, and then focus on ourselves and our own time.
After all, the passing of Furp should make us all take note of our own lives, and how we should live it fully and without sorrow or pity.
Uhmmm...
Not to be impertinent, or rude, and with the deepest of respect...
Was there a reason we needed to know that?
I appreciate the fact that you're not grieving for furp right now; i daresay there are plenty of furs on the board who aren't, by simple virtue of the fact that they never met him. That's ok; your feelings are yours, and they're totally valid. But perhaps you might better serve your needs there by simply letting the folks in this thread grieve and focusing on other things.
After all, you're not under any obligation to respond to every thread, or even to read them all. I admit i don't often read most of the threads in the gaming thread very carefully, because i don't much care for videogames. Most of the time i just open each thread and close it, so it no longer reads as unread. But i don't post every time to tell them how i don't like gamecube don't think they should either.
I'm not in any way trying to say it's wrong for you not to be sad about furp's death, and i understand your desire to focus on living life fully rather than grieving its end. I'm just asking if perhaps you might be a little more tender with the folks in this thread, seeing as they're clearly still in pain and need some time to be in that space together.
I just learned of this news last night... it tore me apart. I wasn't even sure if I could continue on to begin Radio Unifurse that night, but I pushed on. Sunday night, after the Funday Pawpet Show, I dedicated a special 3 1/2 hour episode of Radio Unifurse to Furp, as well as a moment of silence, in respect of his memory.
He held my hand during one of the most painful moments of my life. When I lied on the hotel floor in pain at AC '07, he held my head until the ambulance came for me. That moment I knew I had made a friend, and I was reminded that there are indeed good people in this world.
Furp was a good person. A GREAT person. I cried for him. And I felt tragic loss. And I knew that everyone else in that chatroom, that everyone else here, and that everyone who knew him felt that same loss.
As painful as it was, I think it was in my best interest — our best interests, to keep pushing on, and to continue the night not in pain, but in happiness, as we all celebrate his life.
My sincerest condolences to his family and friends. I know how you all feel.
He will sorely be missed.
Furp, you were a true friend.
Has there been any follow up on this? The story just mentions the accident not what is happening with the other person involved, nor are there more details on what caused the accident in the first place.
"Furry is a state of mind."
The other fellow wasn't drunk. They were moving at high rate of speed, the leading vehicle turned and Furp didn't and struck the leading vehicle at high speed.
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David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man. This is but one constant in life.
My heart and prayers to all those who knew and cared for him.
i my self ride motorcycles. i am sad to hear of a fellow riders death but i would like to point out that every rider knows the golden rule of motorcycles. "it's not if you crash but, when and how." now riding off road motorcycles couses tons of crashes (I've stopped counting at 48) it's safer to backflip a offroadbike than to take a street bike up the road. he also probably wasn't wearing race designed gear. (i know he wasn't racing but this stuff has helped people walk away from +200Mph crashes. but in truth the motorcycle rider always puts himself in that position.
but if it wasn't for the danger factor bikers would ride cars. R.I.P.
'AnonLuzer' comments removed.
Working for the UK's largest classic motorcycle publisher I know all too well of the stories of car drivers simply not seeing (or watching out for) bikers when turning. A car failing to see a motorcycle and turning into the path of a biker is one accident particularly targeted by road safety adverts on UK TV.
A tragic case
Darkclaw T Wolf Esq.
AC Staffer 9 Years
Internet Room
I am sorry for your loss, he sounds like a great guy, I wish could have meet him
Sorry, I didn't know furp from the fandom, but I have known furp's parents for years now.
I met them through the boyscouts.
They are really friendly and interesting folks.
I'm sorry to say I never got to know furp very well, but his parents are family friends.
They helped us out when my mother died, and visited us every week for 2 months after that.
If I had known you guys when it happened, I would have posted my condolences with the rest of you. :' (
(edited to sound less rude)
hey I have an idea would there be any way possible we can hold like a small memorial of him or something at AC 09? to remember all the yrs he has been on the AC staff?
I'm Sorry if I opened up old wounds by posting here.
I didn't mean to be rude, and I am sorry for digging up such an emotional topic,
since it must seam like I'm treading on something very special to you.
Wow, the irony there is just horrible; a medic killed in a car "accident". It's really just stupid stuff like that happens. How old was he?
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~Z~