2020 - 2024 ✯
2020 ✯
Sophie Buser
Sophie Buser (1902-1997) New York City
Sophie Buser (1902-1997) emigrated to the United States in 1922 from her native Switzerland. She married stamp dealer Eddie Buser, whose family owned and operated a stamp store on Nassau Street in New York City.
Buser was an ardent promoter of Swiss philately. She co-founded the Women’s Philatelic Society of New York and the Helvetia Society for Collectors of Switzerland. The American Helvetia Philatelic Society offers the Sophie Buser Memorial youth award at any U.S. show that has at least a two-frame exhibit and an exhibitor 18 years old or younger.
George Griffenhagen
(1924-2019) Pennsylvania
George Griffenhagen (1924-2019) was a 51-year member of APS, recognized in 2003 with a Luff Award for Exceptional Service to Philately. George served as president of the American Topical Association from 1976 to 1979, editor of Topical Time from 1992 to 2009, and First Vice President of the ATA from 1971-1975. He was recognized as ATA Distinguished Philatelist in 1970.
George was Treasurer of the Council of Philatelic Organizations from 1983-1991. He served as Secretary Treasurer of the APS Writers Unit 30 from 1982 to 2013 and was elected to their Hall of Fame in 1998. He wrote several thematic handbooks for the ATA and collaborated on a history and bibliography of topical philately. He also wrote regular columns on pharmaceutical philately in professional journals worldwide.
Ann Triggle
(1935 - 2018) New York and Florida
Ann M. Triggle (1935- 2018) was the 2005 Luff Award winner for Outstanding Service to the American Philatelic Society. Ann was a professor at the University of Buffalo where she created and ran a pharmacy museum before retiring and moving to Florida. Ann served on the APS Board of Vice Presidents from 2001-2003 and as an APS Director at Large from 1997-2001. Ann served on the board for the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, served on the committees of the Rochester, NY, and Sarasota, FL, national exhibitions, chaired the APS Awards Committee and while on the board served as the liaison to all APS committees.
However, Ann was probably best known as a national and internationally accredited judge who chaired the Committee for Accredition of National Exhibitions and Judges (CANEJ). She wrote chapters for two editions of The Manual of Philatelic Judging and helped broaden exhibiting to allow display, illustrated and cinderella exhibits. Ann recruited many new judges and her preparedness and attention to detail was legendary. While she represented the APS on the International Federation of Philately Thematic Commission, her prostitute tax stamp exhibit may have attracted more attention than any of her other exhibits.
2021 ✯
Elizabeth Pope
(? - 2007) of St. Louis, Missouri
There are times when some of the more experienced philatelists and dealers gather for a social event and reminisce about some of the greats of our hobby who are no longer with us. Even to the uninitiated, some of the names that are generally mentioned are ones that clearly rank within the pantheon of world philately. Among these would be Robert A. Siegel, Henry M. Goodkind, Harry L. Lindquist, Mortimer Neinken, Creighton Hart, Alfred Lichtenstein, Thomas J. Alexander, Van Dyk MacBride, Eugene Klein, and Stanley B. Ashbrook, to name only a handful. It might surprise some of those philatelists and dealers at such a social gathering that there is one philatelist and dealer who knew, quite personally, all of these people and a whole lot more of them than those mentioned above. And even further: that each of those famous luminaries of philately not only knew this person but respected her most profoundly. That person, of course, was Elizabeth C. Pope of St. Louis, Missouri.
Liz Pope’s achievements were of the highest level. In the 1980s she assembled, wrote and published the six-volume series of OPINIONS: Philatelic Expertising: An Inside View for The Philatelic Foundation. In 1992, she was co-founder of the annual St. Louis Stamp Expo, a World Series of Philately national exhibition. For over 50 years, she served as officer, board member, program director and other roles for the renowned Webster Groves Stamp Club, one of the APS’ largest and oldest chapters. In the 1990s, she commuted weekly between her home in Webster Grove to her apartment in New York City where she was in charge of the Christie’s auction firm’s philatelic division. While there, she handled some of the greatest philatelic holdings when Christie’s brought them to auction, including the fabulous Honolulu Advertiser collection of Hawaiian classic stamps and postal history. While there, she tutored the very young Scott Trepel who, shortly before the death of Robert Siegel, left Christie’s to become the latter’s right hand assistant; Trepel later rose to be head of the Siegel firm. In early 2000s, David Straight wrote a large series of articles for The American Stamp Dealer & Collector magazine recounting the philatelic life of Elizabeth Pope. When this happened, Liz began “unloading” her vast collection of philatelic history and memorabilia to fellow Missourian and longtime friend Randy Neil. Week after week Liz's “souvenirs of a philatelic life” are now in his library.
The late Hans Stoltz, Liz’s dear lifelong friend, was employed as an executive of Robert A. Siegel Auctions Galleries when, in the 1980s, she learned from Hans that he had a dream to one day own and operate his own business. Liz was always looking to help people in the world of professional philately. She “engineered” Hans’ move to her hometown of Webster Groves where he opened a stamp shop, with Liz as co-owner, in a commercial office building Liz owned just down the street from where she lived. It quickly became a formidable “hangout” for locals as well as visiting philatelists from around the country.
Liz Pope evolved from a serious stamp collector in her teens to one of the truly great figures in American philately into the latter part of the 20th century. Not only do the great auction houses like that of Robert A. Siegel and Christie’s owe her a debt of gratitude, but she mentored some of the authentic greats of modern day stamp dealing and collecting like Scott Trepel and Charles Shreve.
Her knowledge of world philately, and in particular 19th century U.S. and Confederate States issues, was legendary—but more than that, her circle of friends includes the owners of most of the important stamp collections assembled in this country over the past 60 years. In her youth, she married John D. Pope III, a St. Louis lawyer and lifelong serious specialist in U.S. classic stamps and covers. For decades before his death, she and John traveled extensively to attend scores of major stamp shows and to give expert presentations at large and small stamp clubs. This vigorous activity helped Liz become an astute philatelic expert in her own right. And when John passed away in 1983, Liz hardly paused in her national-level activities. Not only did she oversee the auction of his vast U.S. collections at Siegel’s in 1984, she became determined to learn the stamp auction business.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Liz Pope was that, even at the point of her passing in 2007 when she was in her mid-eighties, she was still 100% involved in the hobby of philately and with her wonderful family.
Dr. Elizabeth Nettles
(1933 - 2014) St. Louis, Missouri
Dr. Elizabeth Jane Nettles, known to everyone as “Betty,” was a prominent St. Louis psychologist and psychotherapist and internationally known philatelist. Betty began to collect stamps at age eight while recovering from polio. She attended the College of William & Mary and earned a B.S. in psychology there in 1955. She moved to St. Louis in 1956 and resided in the area ever since. She attended Washington University from 1956 to 1962 under a fellowship sponsor by the National Institute of Mental Health and earned her PhD in clinical psychology in 1978 after completion of her dissertation “Ego Development and Sex Role Expectation in Marriage.” She began her private practice as a clinical psychologist in 1960 and quickly became recognized as a specialist in psychological testing of children and adolescents to diagnose difficult cases. Betty served as a consultant in Family and Children's Services in St. Louis for over 30 years. She also worked as a psychological consultant for the Girls' Home, St. Louis Hospital for Children, Clayton Public Schools, The Miriam School, Mary Institute, Lutheran Family Service and St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. She worked as a research consultant for Family Services of Memphis, Washington University Medical School, Jewish Hospital, and Illinois Children and Family Service. She was the Chief Clinical Psychologist for the Ellen Steinberg Division of Child Psychiatry at Jewish Hospital in the early 1960s. She was a long-term member of the Missouri and American Psychological Association and served as a chair of the Missouri Association Legislative Committee for many years. In recent years, she served as a supervisor in those seeking licensure as clinical psychologists. She was a skilled therapist for all age groups. In recent years, she developed expertise in forensic evaluations for criminal cases. Betty's primary focus as an adult was her family and her clients/patients.
In her middle age, she developed a passion for her philately and became known widely in the community as a serious stamp collector and as an accomplished exhibitor. She built award-winning exhibits of St. Louis postal history and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase. She was a member of numerous national societies including the American Philatelic Society, the Women Exhibitors and Hawaiian Stamp Study Group. Some of her prized Hawaiian material is on long-term loan in an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute. In St. Louis, Betty was an active member of the Mound City Stamp Club, 1904 World's Fair Club and especially the Webster Groves Stamps Club, in which she was the long-term program chair, inviting outstanding speakers who collectively comprised one of the strongest club program schedules in the nation. She was founder and leader of a St. Louis area exhibitors study group, the St. Louis Bears, and for many years was in the Exhibits Choir for the St. Louis Stamp Expo, which grew to become one of the most competitive exhibitions in the country. Many of the visiting speakers and other guests were welcomed into her home, which she proudly called “The Nettles Philatelic Hotel.” Her gracious hospitality was legendary as were her Virginia style crab cakes.
In 2010, Betty received the Elizabeth C. Pope Award from the St. Louis Stamp Expo for her great contributions to philately. It was fitting that Betty should be honored with the award named for and first bestowed upon her longtime friend Elizabeth C. Pope.
Dr. Esper Hayes
(1934 - 2019) USA
Dr. Esper Hayes lived a life of service and beyond her love for philately, she also served the community by working with various youth organizations, helping young people to gain the skills they needed to be successful. Dr. Hayes obtained advanced degrees in social work and later taught Human Growth and Development and Social Policy at Seton Hall University. She ultimately became a social worker to assist children find stability in their lives. It is not surprising with this background that she devoted her interests in philately with the dream that African Americans, especially young people, would develop pride in themselves by understanding their heritage through philatelic material.
Dr. Esper Hayes founded the Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections (ESPER) in 1988. The non-profit organization is “dedicated to promoting the collecting of stamps and philatelic material depicting people and events related to the African Diaspora and to encouraging and supporting the interest and participation of Black people in all aspects of philately.” ESPER is a study unit of the American Topical Association and an affiliate of the APS.
When she was eight or nine years old, Hayes was encouraged by her father to collect stamps and was attracted to the topic of birds on stamps. The hobby remained an important part of her life. In the 1970s she attended a first day ceremony in New York where she stood in a long line to meet the Olympian and fellow stamp collector Jesse Owens and obtain his autograph. When they met, Owens pointed out that the two of them were the only African Americans in attendance, and he urged Esper to get more involved.
She promised him that she would. Later she joined with 35 other collectors interested in Black Americans depicted on stamps and formed the Black Stamp Collectors. With the help of the APS the group expanded its activities and evolved into Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections (ESPER). She urged collectors, especially youngsters, to appreciate and take pride in their heritage. She promoted the hobby tirelessly with exhibits at schools and libraries and helped form stamp clubs for youngsters.
As an example, at ESPER’s 30th anniversary in 2018, Dr. Hayes interacted with children and their parents at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. ESPER had various stamp displays and hands-on activities to assist the community in learning about Black history and African Americans on stamps. During the museum event, children were able to use props to dress up to look like Bessie Coleman, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, or A. Phillip Randolph.
Clarence McKnight, ESPER webmaster and former Editor-in-Chief of ESPER newsletter Reflections, shared Dr. Hayes’ words, which she personally shared with him: “We need to collect more to know more about our history. Teach your children that they have the right to be proud of who they are and they are part of a history that no one can change.”
She firmly believed in the power of sharing our story with young people. “Start with the young,” Hayes advised. “You don’t realize you can plant the seed because the seed of stamp collecting remains with you – you can go back to it at any point in your life.”
Félix Luis Pérez-Folch Jr., a member of the American Topical Association Board of Directors, met Dr. Hayes at Charpex 2016 and she became his mentor. In his words, “When I joined the military in 1989, I came across a quote by Isaac Newton that read, ‘If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.’ To me, Esper Hayes was one of those giants.” With a strong passion and dedication for expanding the hobby to diverse communities, Dr. Esper Gold Hayes was a stalwart of hope, encouragement, pride, commitment, and celebration for the members of the society that bears her first name and for the philatelic community in general.
2022 ✯
Gordon Morison
Former Third Assistant Postmaster General Gordon Morison left behind a wonderful series of stellar contributions to the American Philatelic Society and to the philatelic world at large. He created and founded the World Series of Philately in the late 1960s when his Rochester (N.Y.) Philatelic Society introduced the Champion of Champions competitions at the 1969 Rochester Philatelic Society Stamp Show. His work within the USPS brought into being a bright new tradition of cooperation between the Postal Service and organized philately. Among his achievements in that regard was his chairmanship of the Washington 2006 International Philatelic Exhibitions.
Stanley Piller
Oakland, California
Stanley Piller was a world-famous U.S. classics stamp expert and dealer from Oakland, California. He was the author of the definitive book on the New York City postmaster’s provisional stamps and highly respected member of the expertizing committees with both the APS Expertizing Service and The Philatelic Foundation. A generous donor to many major and not-so-major causes in our hobby, Piller was a world-class and high gold medal exhibitor on the international exhibition stage; and, his expertise in the world of United States postal history is legendary. Piller was a walking-talking world-class expert on a wide range of philatelic pursuits. He cut his teeth as a stamp dealer when he was in high school working for a relative who was a dealer on Nassau Street in NYC.
Dr. Guy Dillaway
Without any doubt, the doyen of New England philately, Guy Dillaway served on the board of directors of the American Philatelic Society for many years. A founding member of the organizing committee for the Boston International Philatelic exhibition coming up in 2026, his work with and for the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum as president is a lasting legacy of lifelong work that he leaves behind, including his longtime service on the museum’s board of directors. In addition, living in a very active philatelic community, Guy served those organizations in numerous roles.
2023 ✯
Alfred F. Kugel
(1930 - 2022) Hinsdale, Illinois
Al Kugel (1930-2022) of Hinsdale, Illinois, died May 11, 2022, at age 91.
Kugel was associated with many philatelic organizations, but especially Chicagopex, the Military Postal History Society, and the American Philatelic Society. He served as a director of the Chicago Philatelic Society (CPS), and as exhibit chairman and general chairman of Chicagopex. The CPS honored Kugel with its Saul Newbury and Aubrey Berman awards.
A Life Member of the Military Postal History Society, Kugel served as its director, vice president and president. At the time of his death, Kugel had the lowest membership number (434) of any active member.
With his experience in the investment field, Kugel brought financial stability to Chicagopex, considered to be one of the best World Series of Philately venues. As a member of the American Philatelic Society’s finance committee, he advised the APS on its investment portfolio.
Kugel was an expert on military postal history and had more than 100 single and multiframe exhibits in this field. He contributed scores of articles in this area, many of them in the Military Postal History Society Bulletin. He also contributed to The American Philatelist; Collectors Club Philatelist; the Postal History Society journal; Rossica, the journal of Russian philately; and German Postal Specialist, among others. Kugel and co-author Ed Dubin received the United States Stamp Society’s Barbara Mueller award for the best article in the 2017 issues of The American Philatelist.
Al was an APS accredited philatelic judge and served on CANEJ. In 2005, he was awarded the John N. Luff award for distinguished philatelic research and in 2011 he was elected to the APS Writers Hall of Fame. He was a council member of the American Philatelic Congress, an officer in the Collectors Club of Chicago, a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, and he served on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists.
Reginald Stafford Healy (Captain Tim Healy)
(1892 - 1947)
Reginald Stafford Healy was born in Sydney, Australia in 1892. He fought through World War I with the Australian Army and was part of the Allied forces at Gallipoli.
Reginald Healy came to the United States to learn the oil business in Texas. There, he met his future wife, Margaret, a schoolteacher, and they moved from Gainesville, Texas to New York Coty, where he ran the financial side of a small oil company.
The business collapsed in 1929, and after that, he did whatever he could to survive, his son recalled, including sweeping streets. For a time, he had a radio show called “Captain Tim's Stamp Club of the Air” on NBC. Healy used his son’s name as his on-air personality.
In the early 1930s, Henry Ellis Harris partnered with the consumer products firm Procter and Gamble to produce a radio show using “Captain Tim” to sell stamps. For a small price (and a couple of box tops from some Ivory Snow detergent), a person could be a stamp collector. Another Harris insight was that collectors not only needed stamps, but they needed a low-priced series of albums to put them in. The radio show that Harris produced and hosted by “Captain Tim” Healy, offered not only stamps but a small album to put them in. Captain Tim’s albums were produced in the millions.
Thanks to Captain Tim’s exciting tales of battle and stamps, thousands, young and old, joined the rank of collector.
Dr. Stanley Bierman
(1935 - 2022)
When Stanley M. Bierman, M.D., died at the age of 86, the world of philately lost a philatelic scholar, masterful raconteur, and an important part of its institutional memory.
Although he was a prominent physician, Bierman worked diligently at assembling one of the world’s greatest private philatelic libraries, putting it to good use as a tool for research on philately’s greatest stamp collectors.
Perhaps even more importantly, Bierman also actively worked to preserve philatelic oral history by initiating a series of insightful video interviews with some of the most important living figures in philately. He is shown interviewing Raymond Weill (right) on May 26, 1986, in Chicago at AMERIPEX ’86. Without Bierman’s strenuous efforts, much philatelic history and many fascinating anecdotes would have been lost forever. /p>
Bierman’s masterful 2016 summary article on Philatelic Literature, Its Lore and Heritage is available in the Philatelic Literature Review. Furthermore, the surprisingly entertaining and fascinating story of how Bierman’s own philatelic library came to be formed is recounted in earlier PLR articles published in 1984-1985.
Having traveled a great deal during my scientific career, I first became aware of Bierman’s book on The World’s Greatest Stamp Collectors at a Smithsonian Museum shop in an airport before flying home from East Coast meetings in the early 1990s. It’s not only an enjoyable read, but is carefully documented with more than 420 references.
On another trip, I met Weill at his stamp shop on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans and enjoyed talking with him. As soon as I learned that Bierman had conducted detailed interviews with Weill and other famous philatelists and that these were available on DVD for the benefit of the American Philatelic Society, I bought them, greatly enjoying the many anecdotes that are now permanently preserved.
Finally, I’ll never forget the occasions when I was invited to visit Bierman at his home in Beverly Hills for philatelic holiday brunches. After showing me parts of his famous library, we would sit outside by the swimming pool across from the Japanese tea house with the other guests and talk about stamps until it was time for the luncheon. After more “stamp talk” we would gather inside for a showing of one of Bierman’s interviews with commentary by the interlocutor himself.
Dr. Kenneth B. Grant
(1948 - 2023)
Kenneth “Ken” Grant was former secretary of the American Philatelic Society and president of the American Philatelic Research Library. He served many years on the APRL Board of Trustees as well as on several APS committees, including the USSS-Mueller award committee, the Charles J. Peterson Philatelic Literature Life Achievement Award, and the strategic planning committee. In 2020 he was honored with the Luff Award for outstanding service to the APS.
He was a proud supporter of the APS and served many years on the Campaign for Philately committee. He was one of the society leaders who signed the paperwork to purchase the Match Factory for the APS headquarters and was involved with every aspect of its construction up until its completion in 2016. During his administration the mortgage debt on the Match Factory was retired 15 years ahead of schedule.
Grant served many roles in local and state philatelic organizations and served on the board of the Postal History Society. His articles appeared in Philatelic Literature Review, Badger Postal Historian, and Across the Fence, among others. He edited several publications, including The Cinderella Philatelist. Four shelves in the APRL house the Kenneth B. Grant Cinderella Collection. In 2018, he was named to the Cinderella Stamp Club’s Maurice Williams Roll of Notable Cinderella Philatelists.
Janet R. Klug
(1950 - 2023)
Janet Klug served the APS as secretary, on the board of vice presidents, and as the first woman president, as well as a member of several committees and as chair of the Committee on the Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges. Her service to the hobby extended well beyond the American Philatelic Society and includes founder and editor of the Tonga & Tin Can Mail Study Circle, vice chair of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists and chair of its new initiatives committee, secretary-treasurer of the American Philatelic Congress, and chair of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee.
Klug authored regular columns in Global Stamp News, Stamp Collector, Linn’s Stamp News, Scott’s Stamp Monthly, and The American Philatelist. She wrote books such as The Catalog of Tin Can Mail Cachets of the Tonga Islands, and the Smithsonian Guide to Stamp Collecting, and coauthored with Don Sundman The 100 Greatest American Stamps. In 2010 she was inducted into the Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame. In 2014, she received the Luff Award for Outstanding Service to the APS, and in 2019 was honored with the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement award.
Dr. Herbert A. Trenchard
(1931 - 2023)
Herbert “Herb” Trenchard is recognized as the dean of United States philatelic history. While most collectors in the hobby seek stamps and covers, Trenchard focused on material related to the history of stamp collecting, including auction catalogs, exhibition catalogs, profiles of famous stamp collectors, forgers and forgeries, first day ceremonies, and ephemera related to local clubs as well as national and international philatelic events.
Trenchard was past president of the Washington (D.C.) Philatelic Society, a board member of the NAPEX World Series of Philately show, board of directors of the U.S. international SIPEX exhibition in 1966, longtime member of the board of trustees of the APRL including vice president of the board, APS historian, and member of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists. He was a member and then chairman of the APS Hall of Fame Committee.
Trenchard’s articles have appeared in Philatelic Literature Review, for which he was associate editor, The Penny Post, the Collectors Club Philatelist, The American Philatelist, Postal History Journal, Linn’s Stamp News, the Chronicle of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, United States Specialist, and First Days among others. He was a veteran volunteer at both the National Postal Museum and the American Philatelic Society.
In 1992, Trenchard received the APS Luff Award for Outstanding Service to the American Philatelic Society, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame. He was named a distinguished philatelist by the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society in 2003 and in 2006 he received the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award.
Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz
(1943 - 2023)
Anthony “Tony” Wawrukiewicz was an accomplished philatelic author, researcher, exhibitor, and judge. With Henry Beecher, he co-authored books on United States postal rates, both domestic and foreign, and revised and updated them. He also published books on postal rates of Canada and Great Britain. He enabled key U.S. government publications to be posted online, including the U.S. Postal Bulletins, U.S. Postal Laws and Regulations, U.S. Postal Guides, and Postal Manuals for use by researchers.
Wawrukiewicz authored and co-authored other books on New York auxiliary markings; the U.S. Liberty Series; topics on U.S. postal history, 1794-2019; forwarding of mail; and the uses of U.S. postage due stamps. He wrote a column on modern U.S. postal history in Linn’s Stamp News for nearly 20 years.
Wawrukiewicz in 2013 was named to the Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame and received the Charles J. Peterson philatelic literature life achievement award in 2020. He was honored with the 2002 Luff Award for Distinguished Philatelic Research. Other awards include the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society’s Elliott Perry Cup and Stanley Ashbrook Cup, and a Distinguished Philatelist, and the American Philatelic Congress Diane D. Boehret award.
Wawrukiewicz served on several committees and also chaired the PIPEX World Series show in Portland, Oregon over the years. He was founding editor of the newsletter of the Auxiliary Markings Club, which position he held for nearly 20 years.