I just wanted to report that philately in Texas will never be the same. Recently, two great members of the Texas Philatelic Association passed away.
Robert Benner was the current president of the association. He had several award winning collections, and was quite an enthusiast in the hobby.
We also lost the patriarch of philately in Texas. Warren Crain was probably the nicest collector/dealer you could ever hope to meet. Some of you may recall his name as the author of "Crain's Corner" in the issues of The Texas Philatelist that I sent out as prizes in the Qualification Round of the stamp tournament. I met Warren at the first stamp show that I attended in Texas back in the early 1980s. I got the great welcome to Texas philately from him. He was an icon at most every show in Texas and was a most generous and kind man. He also ran a small quarterly bourse in San Antonio that I sometimes attended. You would never know what he would bring to the shows, but it was always something good to add to your collection. I took my son to one of the shows and he met Warren too. I think Warren lit the stamp collector bug in him as my son is an avid collector too for many years.
All of us in philately have lost a couple of bright shining stars.