Furp killed in motorcycle accident

Furp at Dorsai Thing 31

Long-time fandom member and convention volunteer Furp (Patrick Reed) died yesterday in an accident on the roads close to his work at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base in California.^[1]

Furp was riding his motorcycle on Highway 62 when a Marine turned left in front of him.^[1][2][3][4] He was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 29.^[5]

Furp was a regular member of Anthrocon operations staff, as well other conventions such as Califur, FurFright, Midwest FurFest and Rocket City FurMeet, and provided expertise in first-aid.

The report of Furp's death resulted in an outpouring of emotion from friends and well-wishers. A LiveJournal community,   remember_furp, has been set up in his memory.^[6]

Furp's memorial service will be held at Heritage Funeral Home, 16880 National Ave., New Berlin, WI 53151 (262-901-1140), likely on February 28.^[7][8]

Quotes

Anyone who was on the MFF staff in any of the last ten years knew Furp [...] From removing glass from Candis King's foot in 2000 to helping my sister in 2006 when she collapsed just after Kage's "So This Is Your First Convention" panel and to things non-con related...there's a number of things to remember. He'll be missed in no small number of ways by no small number of people. — Foxish[9]

To those who knew Furp, and his wonderful darker sense of humor.. all I can do is picture him at the pearly gates, looking around with that lovely grin of his, then back at the world that will miss him so, smiling at God and rolling his eyes going "F-ing marines..." — Chains Coyote [10]

I first met Furp back in 2003 or so, when Uncle Kage felt that he would be a good addition to Con Ops. That totally turned out to be the case. He worked hard, and partied harder when the work was done. — Giza[11]

I met Furp years ago because we both worked late nights at Anthrocon. We'd hang out in ops after I'd closed the dances and I was around for some of the 'first responder' situations. I saw him briefly at FC'09 but the last time I really spent much time with him was watching him gleefully cooking up absinthe he'd gotten overseas at the DI Dead Dog party of AC'08. [...] I'll really miss him a lot. — Triggur

Furp and I had a rocky start but developed into a friendship years later. Sometimes it was like looking into a mirror, sometimes it was like he was a brother. He always had a quirky sense of humor and always seemed to bring about something zany to the table. [...] I can still remember fondly some of those evenings with a cup of coffee, Furp and I, and some good chats about things. — Skye Bluedeer

Furp offered a shoulder to a stranger some time ago, and helped a new fur into the fandom with his encouragement. Patched up a gash I got at MFM '03, helped me learn the ropes at the con, and kept me out of harm's way. Damn shame to lose someone on such good footing from the fandom and life as a whole. — Selkit

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Unbearable news -   unclekage (February 19, 2009)
2. ↑ Motorcyclist killed in Twentynine Palms crash - Melissa Pinion-Whitt, InsideSocal.com (February 19, 2009)
3. ↑ Rest in Peace, Furp -   bluedeer (February 19, 2009)
4. ↑ Twentynine Palms - Fatal Traffic Collision - The Inland Empire Crime Blog (February 19, 2009)
5. ↑ Comment on A tragic loss - Uncle Kage, Anthrocon forums (February 19, 2009)
6. ↑ Veteran killed in accident - Hi-Desert Star (21 February 2009)
7. ↑ Memorial Service Information (February 22, 2009)
8. ↑ Update from Furp's Mom - Skye Bluedeer (February 23, 2009)
9. ↑ Foxish's comment (February 19, 2009)
10. ↑ Chains Coyote's comment (February 19, 2009)
11. ↑ Patrick Reed: 1979-2009 —   giza (February 19, 2009)