In Memoriam
Tributes to some of our most eminent members
Dave Wrisley
May 12, 1945 – November 12, 2016
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Dave Wrisley died Saturday, November 12. Dave suffered a stroke from a blood clot that was a side effect of the treatments he was taking for prostate cancer.
As you all know, Dave, until very recently, was our webmaster, the editor of our quarterly State Revenue News, our catalog editor and Vice President. In other words, Dave was involved in everything the SRS does. He devoted a huge amount of his time to SRS duties and was responsible for much of our success. His greatest contribution was the State Revenue Catalog of which he was both editor and author.
Dave had already successfully transferred to Rob Conley the job of editor of the SRN and the job of webmaster to Adam Hahn. Jeff Hofius has agreed to take over the job of catalog editor and the Board has approved his appointment as catalog editor. All of these men are well able to uphold the high standards Dave established and their willingness to serve is greatly appreciated.
Dave’s contributions to the SRS cannot be overstated. We have lost a good friend and he will be greatly missed. However, the Board is committed to doing all that is necessary for the SRS to continue to thrive.
Although Dave collected stamps all his life, he was a relative newcomer to state revenue stamp collecting. He joined the SRS in 2006, collecting primarily Florida revenues as a post-retirement activity. He was elected as an SRS Board member beginning January 2009.
Dave was elected to be the chair of the Catalog Review Committee that was established after the successful publication of Scott’s 1st edition. Dave approached the task with tireless determination. He spent countless hours on the 4+ year project, first creating a set of comprehensive catalog standards, then working hard to gather as many inputs as possible.
Dave possessed a rare combination of technical and interpersonal skills, enthusiasm for state revenues, a patient eye for detail, and time to devote to the project, all of which were necessary to produce such an outstanding product. His overall goal was to create a catalog that was so good it would immeasurably elevate the stature of the SRS in the philatelic community, and encourage new membership. He accomplished that goal.
As if he didn’t already have enough to do, on his own initiative, and by scanning thousands of pages, he also produced a searchable DVD of all SRN issues. This product is a great research tool, a transitional tool for new members, and a modest moneymaker for the SRS. Along the way he continued to write a number of excellent articles for the SRN.
Dave also created our web site in 2008, and was our webmaster. The site contains up to date information on membership, as well as auction information and Society products for sale.
Dave performed an outstanding service to the SRS and to all state revenue collectors. He was honored with an honorary life membership in 2014.
If any of you have comments or stories regarding Dave, please send them to Robert Conley, 52 Vista Ridge, Glenburn, ME 04401-1829, revenueblue@hotmail.com, by December 31st. These will be published in the first quarter, 2017 SRN.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be sent to the American Cancer Society, Wounded Warrior Project or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Ken Pruess
June 21, 1932 – December 11, 2016
For many years in the early history of the State Revenue Society, Ken Pruess was the heart and soul of the organization. He was editor of the State Revenue Newsletter, as it was then known, from September 1966 through July 1973 — a total of 43 issues and almost 7 years. It was under Ken’s editorship that the Newsletter went from a rather poorly printed publication to one with much better technical qualities. In his message as the new editor in the September 1966 issue he expressed “some hesitation” on becoming editor and said he would “do my best to prepare an informative publication.” In this he more than succeeded as a glance at the issues he edited so clearly show. I think it fair to say that the much improved publication that Ken produced put the State Revenue Newsletter and state revenue collecting on the philatelic map.
After leaving the editorship Ken continued to serve the SRS in several capacities and to enhance his award winning collection of New York State stock transfer tax stamps.
Ken introduced me to state revenue collecting. I was a 16-year-old kid in New Hampshire collecting various things when, in September 1967, I saw a short note in Linn’s Weekly Stamp News (as it was then titled) regarding something called the State Revenue Society. “State revenue stamps,” I thought, “that sounds interesting.” The address given was Ken’s — 1441 Urbana Lane, Lincoln, NE. So, I wrote and asked for information. He sent back a copy of the State Revenue Newsletter and I was hooked. A week or so after getting that copy I went into the local smoke shop in Hanover, NH and did a listing of the New Hampshire tobacco tax decals I saw. That led to my first sort-of philatelic publication: a list of what I’d found was published in the January 1968 issue of the State Revenue Newsletter (vol. 8, # 1, whole # 73) which Ken, the editor, featured on the front page. How delighted I was to have my contribution actually published! Over the next many years, Ken and I corresponded frequently. He traded me items from his duplicates for my New Hampshire material — at the time New Hampshire stamps were hard to find, there being not many native New Hampshire collectors. He was always very supportive of this young collector. As my interests and his diverged over the years, we corresponded less. But it was always a pleasure to write him and to get a letter in return. He had an enormous influence on my collecting interests. I’ll miss him.
For more on Ken’s contribution to philately, please read David Torre’s remembrance. His obituary may be found here.
If any of you have comments or stories regarding Ken, please send them to Robert Conley, 52 Vista Ridge, Glenburn, ME 04401-1829, revenueblue@hotmail.com. These will be published in a forthcoming issue of the SRN.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be sent to the American Philatelic Society or the Nature Conservancy.