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in MEMORIAM
NÉCROLOGIE
Mary Ann Aspinwall Owens, RDP : 1928-2005
November 21, 2005 was a black day
for the world of philately for on that
day Mary Ann Owens, a life member of
The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada,
passed away following a lengthy illness.
Mary Ann was born on June 24, 1928,
in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. A year after
graduating from college in 1950 she was
married to John Owens. Unhappily, her
husband succumbed to cancer some time
later. They had no children.
She was employed in the family
business as a bookkeeper until 1980,
when she moved to Brooklyn where she
continued to work in the same profession.
Her interest in stamp collecting was
sparked in 1960 when a friend gave her
a set of elephant-related stamps to complement
her collection of elephant miniatures.
I wonder if that friend ever realized
what a impact his gift had made
to the hobby of thematic philately? It
had spawned the birth of a giant in that
field, a giant who literally transformed
that genre of the hobby and nurtured it
into the highly respected position it currently
enjoys on the international scene.
There was a time when many a crusty
old judge would refuse to “waste his
time” looking at a thematic or topical
exhibit! And that wasn’t all that many
years ago ... until Mary Ann arrived
on the scene and proved, by her own
superb exhibits, that this “newfangled
fad” could –and would– revolutionize
the hobby.
Mary Ann became a member of
the American Topical Association and
launched her long-standing exhibiting
career at the Wisconsin Stamp Club
Show in Wauwatosa in 1963. The following
year she joined the American
Philatelic Society (and became a life
member in 1981).
The head of steam was gathering
momentum. As she honed her skills
she became an ATA accredited judge
in 1971, and in 1974 she received her
accreditation as an APS judge. Then followed
her accreditation as an international
judge. She served on the FIP Jury
panels of Themabelga 75, Interphil 76,
Canada 82, Tembal 83, Stockholmia 86,
and India 89. This, after having served
as APS Commissioner to numerous
FIP international exhibitions around
the globe ... Belgium, India, London,
Bangkok, Singapore.
Mary Ann received the ATA
Distinguished Topical Philatelist
Award in 1969, and in 1991 she
was honoured with the APS Luff
Award for Outstanding Service to
Philately. In 1993 she signed the Roll
of Distinguished Philatelists of Great
Britain thereby entitling her to use
the initials RDP after her name.
But there are many
other facets of Mary
Ann’s life in the
realm of philately
that need
recounting to
do her memory
full justice.
She served as an officer or board
member of the American Association
of Philatelic Exhibitors, the American
Philatelic Congress, the ATA, Junior
Philatelists of America, the United
Postal Stationery Society, and Writer
Unit 30. From 1993 to 1997 she served
on the APS board of directors and stood
for the Presidency of that Society in
1997, but had to withdraw her candidacy
due to health problems.
In 1979 she was appointed to the
Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
by U.S. Postmaster General William F.
Bolger. She retired from the Committee
in 1997, but not without leaving a lasting
imprint on the American stamp
design scene. There are many US
stamps today that we owe to Mary
Ann “pushing” their adoption by the
Committee ... maybe one of America’s
“firsts” ... the triangular “Pacific ‘97”
stamps ... could be the most memorable.
Her many thematic exhibits were
truly classics. They included “The
Elephant”, “The Blue Danube”,
“All About Umbrellas”, and
her most recent tour de
force “The Aspinwall
Connection” (an
exhibit combined
her love
of philately
and genealogy
of her English and American heritage
that she traced back to Lancashire in
England.) There were other less powerful
exhibits in between. Her latest effort,
“Ladybeetle, Ladybird, Ladybug” was
a pure delight to behold. But her “biggies”
took Gold and even International
Gold wherever they were shown.
Mary Ann, all of us who had the
privilege of knowing you mourn your
passing but we will long remember
the friendship that you provided and
encouraging us to emulate you in
“reaching for the stars” in thematic
exhibiting excellence. A very sincere
thank you is all I can now offer from
this side of the veil. You will never be
forgotten!
Vaya con Dios, my dear friend!
Raymond W. Ireson
120 • the CP / le PC • MA06