Don Denman, Godspeed

Some years ago I walked into the monthly meeting of the Asheville (North Carolina) Stamp Club and noticed an unfamiliar person sitting off to one side. The man seemed shy and unassuming. I introduced myself and he told me his name was Don Denman. Little did I realize I was looking at a person who would become such a dear and cherished friend and colleague. And he was something else: he was the smartest person in not only that room, but most rooms he entered, both in his private and his professional life. Don could talk with authority about many aspects of philately, politics, animal behavior, Studebaker cars, the manufacture of bar code readers and a number of other topics. And, of course, Don was the moderator of this forum.

Up until very recently Don attended our weekly "Mexifest", where group of philatelic and numismatic friends came together to enjoy Mexican food, show off our latest acquisitions, and yak up a storm about anything and everything. But, yesterday Don lost a long battle with cancer and his chair remains empty. We have lost a great philatelist and a great man.

One of Don's stellar contributions to philately has been his prize-winning website, Stamp Smarter. It was Don's fervent wish that Stamp Smarter carry on after he was gone. His devoted widow has always supported his philatelic passion and is determined to make that happen. I hope that many of you will continue to honor Don and his work by contributing to that goal.

Jim Haxby

I'm incredibly sorry to read that. I wish his family a lot of strength for this time.

Best regards from Switzerland

André

Very sad and sorry to hear this. At a loss for words right now...

John Knudsen

Very sad news.

Don's post about his challenges and future seemed more ominous than ever before, but I'm shocked and so sad to read this. Enormous loss for this community and philately, and I'll keep Don and his family in my thoughts and prayers.

Sorry to hear this tonight. My sincere condolences to his wife, family and friends.

Don was one-of-a-kind, and even though I never met him in person, I will always remember him.

The 51studebaker will be greatly missed.

Peace be with you,

Linus

Wow - very sad news to hear. A true champion of this hobby in so many ways.

Such sad news. Don will be missed.

Although I haven't posted much on this site recently, I check it everyday and always look forward to reading 51studebaker stuff.

Great loss to philatelic community. My condolences to his family and friends.

------SAD NEWS ------ Hope this day would be far in the future .

Most of you don't know Don and I had been adversaries for longer than this community chatboard . We ran into disputes back when the ebay CHATBOARD was popular .

It was petty stuff I posted but it was intended to start a arguement with others . Don knew what I was doing and try many times to stop it .This went on for years .

After a while it became peaceful between us ,but I know all my postings here was Don's first go to look each day ,with his finger on the DELETE button .

As long as I kept civil ,he let me live on the same planet with him .......

HEY ,I will miss him more than most .....condolences to his wife and his friends .....Sail on silver bird,reach for the heavens .

Rest in Peace Don


Peter

Rest in Peace! You leave us an incredible legacy.

Very sad news. My condolences to his wife.

We had several pleasant phone calls when I defended him and the StampSmarter website, for free, against claims of Amos Publishing concerning alleged copyright rights in catalog numbers, which Amos withdrew after our initial response. He invited me to join the SS Board although we were unable to work out terms that worked for my schedule. It was a privilege to provide free legal services to him and a pleasure to know him and share his work here, his contributions to SS, and his balanced perspective on the hobby and forum etiquette. Thanks Don. May your family have peace at this time.

I have learned so much from Don; from Stamp Smarter, from his direct postings here and also his thoughtful stewardship of the different threads. Rest in Peace.

Amidst all the appropriate paens to Don, his work, and his life, please do not forget another way to honor him - by donating to his StampSmarter foundation.