Remembering A Dear Friend:

JT Templeton

September 15, 1950 - January 25, 2010

A gentle man. A fierce civil rights activist.

On the last day of his life, JT Templeton was exactly where he wanted to be—at home with Boots and Coffee, his beloved dogs, close by. JT died on January 25 after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his soul mate and life partner, Karen Greebon.

Among his friends, JT was known as a private and quiet man who enjoyed life’s simple pleasures—particularly his home, friends and pets. He was an avid jigsaw puzzler. He loved UT sports and was a loyal Dallas Cowboys fan. He listened to all kinds of music, and especially liked listening to country western with Karen.

JT cherished the routine normalcy of the last 24 years of his life, and he never took it for granted. He fought way too hard for it.

In 1950, JT was born with cerebral palsy and significant physical disabilities. His family abandoned him. He was shuffled around between foster families until—at age seven—he was placed in the Austin State School.

JT was stuck in that institution for more than 30 years. He hated the confinement and isolation. He resented the lack of respect and privacy. He was discouraged by school workers who insisted there was no place for him in the “real world.” JT longed to be independent and in control of his life.

In the early 1980’s, JT caught the wave of a federal lawsuit that, among other things, was forcing state schools to come up with community living options for residents who wanted them. After a long and tedious process—with plenty of setbacks along the way—JT moved into his own apartment in 1986. It was a joyous ending to years of misery. And it was the beginning of JT’s remarkable work as a nationally-recognized, front-of-the-line, don’t-back-down civil rights activist.

He could have focused on his own new life and let others fend for themselves. That wasn’t JT. He knew too many others who dreamed of independence. He knew—all too well—the barriers that stand in the way.

As a member of MIGHT, one of Austin’s early grassroots disability rights groups, JT started learning the basics of effective advocacy. A couple of years later, he joined ADAPT of Texas. JT felt the group’s activist approach—including civil disobedience—was a good match for his passion and sense of urgency for change.

For the next 22 years, JT was a constant and crucial player in ADAPT’s campaigns. Alongside his ADAPT family, he fought for accessible public transportation; passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act; accessible, affordable housing; and—most dear to JT’s heart—more and better community services so that people can stay out of institutions and nursing homes.

JT traveled the country to be part of ADAPT’s protests and actions. He endured countless hours in all kinds of weather during overnight vigils and protests. He handcuffed himself to buses, buildings, fences—even a trolley car in San Francisco—when the action called for it. His acts of peaceful civil disobedience resulted in more than a few arrests. He sat for hour upon tedious hour in agency and legislative hearings—in Texas and Washington, D.C.—for the chance to share the lessons of his story with lawmakers and policymakers. JT—whose voice was ignored for so many years in the institution—spoke truth to power.

JT was deeply appreciative of the people and organizations that supported him in various ways over the years. He especially credited his friends at Advocacy, Inc., United Cerebral Palsy of Texas, the Texas Home of Your Own Coalition, and ADAPT for helping him get—and stay—out of the state school. He was proud of his circle of friends that extends across the country. He would want them all to keep up the good fight.

A celebration of JT’s life will be held at 3:00 p.m., February 2 at ADAPT headquarters, 1640A East 2nd Street, Suite 100, Austin, 78702. JT will be laid to rest beside his beloved Karen at Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park near New Braunfels at 10:30 a.m., February 3.