Most stamp collectors would count themselves lucky to have half the philatelic resume that Doug Kelsey had. Quiet and not one to boast, even those of us who thought we knew him well were surprised at what we didn’t know until his death.

Douglas Aden Kelsey: 1949–2020
By Alan Warren

American First Day Cover Society Executive Secretary Doug Kelsey, 70, of Tucson, Arizona, died on July 28 after suffering a stroke in mid-June and developing COVID-19 complications during rehab.

“For nearly 30 years, as volunteers and leaders came and went, Doug was the backbone of the society, guiding us and providing the support that kept this organization running,” said AFDCS President Lloyd A. de Vries. “But more than that, Doug was a friend, and I will miss him personally.”

Kelsey was born September 3, 1949. He served as executive director of the AFDCS from 1991 until 2011, at which time the position was altered and named executive secretary. He also served many years on the society’s board of directors.

He began collecting in 1960 and exhibiting in 1962. His wide collecting interests included first day covers, meter stamps, airmails, postal stationery, revenues, and Brazil and Australia. In 2002 he won the Americover grand award for his 1962 Project Mercury first day covers. He received the society’s Glenn Michel special recognition award in 2001, its Distinguished Service Award in 2007, and was named AFDCS Honorary Life Member 21 in 2008.

In 2012 Kelsey was honored by the American Philatelic Society with its Nicholas Carter Volunteer Award for national promotion and service. He was an accredited APS judge.

He held offices in several other organizations, including executive director of the American Topical Association, vice president and director of the United States Philatelic Classics Society, treasurer of the St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Philatelic Society, president of the Machine Cancel Society, executive director of the Postal History Foundation, and secretary-treasurer of the Meter Stamp Society.

Kelsey authored several hundred articles, columns, catalogs, and monographs that included the United States Meter Stamps First Days and Earliest Known Uses. For fourteen years he wrote a column for Linn’s Stamp News and was former editor of the Postal History Foundation’s Heliograph.

Following seven years’ service in the United States Air Force, Kelsey was an executive for Coca Cola Bottling where he was responsible for sales, distribution, advertising, and special projects. He then served as executive director of American Outback—a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of American wildlife and wilderness. He was also executive director of the Tucson Association of Executives from 1999 until the time of his death.

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In the February 2002 issue of American Philatelist, Kelsey wrote about the 1962 Project Mercury first-day and his collection, and recounted how that collection’s display at the Ohio State Fair won him a chance to meet astronaut John Glenn, an Ohio native.

Kelsey, already more than six feet tall, revealed how Glenn is standing on a box in this photo, because a NASA public relations worker decided “We can’t have a 12-year-old looking down on a national hero!”

—Lloyd de Vries

According to his official obituary, Doug is survived by his wife Oralia and his stepdaughters Ana and Briseida, his sister Linda Simonds, daughters Julie Stack and Jennifer Murray, and grandchildren Jaime Kelsey, Justina Outler, Christopher Murray, and Ashley Murray.

“Born in Columbus, Ohio he attended his first year of college at Ohio State University located there. Throughout his life he was a fierce Buckeye fan.

“He graduated with a BA from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas in !971. He served a six year tour of duty with the US Air Force from 1971 to 1977.”