When Herbert Temple decided to pursue a career in commercial art in the 1950s, few positions were available for African-American men in corporate America, his daughter said.
But Mr. Temple was determined to use his creativity and eye for aesthetic beauty to make a better life for himself, Janel Temple said.
"His mother and father were both ministers, and they instilled in him a desire to rise above his station in life," she said. "He had been drawing his whole life and he didn't want to go work in the steel mills or slaughterhouses. He envisioned a different future for himself."
Mr. Temple went on to become a celebrated executive art director at Johnson Publishing Co., company officials said. He worked at the nation's premier African-American publications, Ebony and Jet, and became well-known because of his long tenure.
Mr. Temple, 91, died of heart complications Wednesday, April 13, at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond, his daughter said.
Mr. Temple was born in Gary and grew up in Evanston. He lived on the South Side of Chicago for most of his life but moved to South Holland five years ago, she said.
As a young man, he loved to sketch and draw and was captivated by comics, she said. He graduated from Evanston Township High School and enlisted in the Army.
Returning from his service during World War II, he decided to aggressively pursue a career in the arts, she said.
"He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago using the GI Bill," she said. "He was heavily involved with the South Side Community Arts Center. That was where he got a lot of connections and leads."
Mr. Temple took his first job at Container Corporation of America, designing cartons and packaging items, his daughter said.
In February 1953, he was hired by media mogul John H. Johnson as an artist for Ebony and Jet magazines. He was promoted to art director in 1967 and spent 54 years working for the company.
"Herbert was instrumental in lending his artistic and creative insight to bring life to the pages of our publications, which ultimately inspired and informed millions of black Americans throughout his tenure," said Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of Johnson Publications, in a statement. "Herbert will be deeply missed."
In addition to his work at Johnson, Mr. Temple was an avid entrepreneur, his daughter said. He started JanTemp Greetings, a card company that made products featuring Afro-centric themes, and was one of the founders of Brief Reflections Nightclub, a South Loop lounge and dance club in the 1980s.
He also designed album covers, illustrated children's books and produced a series of drawings of African-American leaders that was eventually archived at a library in California, his daughter said.
"He met almost every famous person and dignitary of our times," she said, "from John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Michael Jackson and John Lennon."
Besides his daughter, Mr. Temple is survived by a sister, Velma Darden.
A wake will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, with a funeral at 11 a.m., at Leak & Sons Funeral Home, 7838 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago.
lbowean@tribune.com
