Actress Christopher Templeton, who played Jack Abbott's loyal secretary Carol Robbins Evans on The Young and the Restless for 11 years, died February 15 at the age of 58.

Stricken with polio with 13 other children in her neighborhood when she was only six months old, Templeton wore a brace on her right leg and used a cane. So did Carol, the beautiful secretary who supported Jack (then Terry Lester) through myriad schemes and love affairs. Eventually, Carol fell in love with Jabot's photographer, Skip Evans, and the two married, adopted a baby, and ultimately left town together.

Templeton returned to the Texas of her childhood and continued the work she began in Los Angeles as a disability advocate, charity fundraiser, and neighborhood activist. She spearheaded breast cancer fundraisers and playground initiatives, and helped cancer victims acquire financial aid for alternative treatments.

Templeton loved being on Y&R. "It was great back then because I fit into the 'beefcake/cheesecake' categories as well as the disability category," she wrote on her website, christophertempleton.com. She also had roles on Simon & Simon, Charles in Charge, Columbo, and Knots Landing.

Her friends at Y&R are saddened by the loss. "I worked with Chris a lot," Eileen Davidson (Ashley) told Soap Opera Digest. "I had so much respect for her. She was a very talented actress, very professional and had a terrific sense of humor. She also made it difficult to believe that she had a disability."

Templeton fought metastatic breast cancer for over eight years. In 2008, she turned to alternative medicine after she was told there were no more conventional treatments. She died just weeks before her 59th birthday.