Although
I knew Ed for only fifteen years or so it seems to me he was an
important figure in U.S. aerophilately in terms of the airmail society
offices he held, his acclaimed exhibits, honors received, contributions
to the AAMS Catalogues, expertise in numerous air mail specialties such
as U.S. Pioneer, Philippine, Canada, etc. and seminars that he
conducted. I can't enumerate even a fraction of Ed's specific
achievements and contributions to our community during the half century
he was active in aerophilately. But I would like to offer the following
in remembrance of a good and steadfast friend.
"Ed
Lettick was an established, internationally recognized, and honored
aerophilatelists long before I met him, circa 1986-88. Then, our
association was one of a "rookie" air mail enthusiast in his sixties
questioning the airmail "pro" in his seventies about U.S. Pioneer
airmail. Ed welcomed my queries about air mail and was always willing,
even eager, to share with me his broad and accurate knowledge of its
history. And he was equally prepared to point out the inaccurate air
mail "histories", too. These he would roundly condemn, often
stridently, sometimes publicly, but always deservedly. Ed knew air
mail! And one soon knew that what Ed knew about air mail was really
worth knowing, the facts as well as the folklore.
We
became good friends and I valued my friendship with this gruff and
direct, but a principled, honest, and generous fellow; a man to take a
stand and keep his word. He held high office in the AAMS, AFA, and
MAPS, and remained thereafter an active stalwart for each society
despite his ongoing battle with several life threatening illnesses any
of which should have been reason for him to still his activities. Ed
wasn't a man to stay still.
He
exhibited nationally and internationally, garnered Grand Awards at the
shows, was elected to the AAMS Hall of Fame, and twice received the
MAPS Gus Lancaster Prize. He contributed to the production and
publication of the AAMS Catalogues. In all, Ed Lettick, for half a
century, was a consummate aerophilatelist.
Ed's
contributions and achievements are not to be forgotten, but I'll
remember him as my forthright friend who, with untiring and infectious
enthusiasm shared his encyclopedic knowledge of air mail history with
me so that its study became a compelling interest and continuing source
of pleasure for me.
Ed
suffered from diabetes, various cancers, partial blindness, and a heart
condition. He was in and out of hospital almost continuously but never
stopped researching different facets of air mail history. Up to the
time of the stroke just before his death he was examining covers
purportedly carried as air mail by the U.S. Army in 1934.
In September 2001, we brought MAPS to Ed with a MAPS meeting to his house and this was the last time some of us saw him. We had a fine time and shall miss his great contribution to aerophilately.
