George Jay Kramer

George Jay Kramer, 89, died peacefully at his home in Jupiter, Florida on December 31, 2025. George was the oldest son of Harold and Adeline Kramer of Passaic, New Jersey. He was a proud graduate of Montclair Academy and attended the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School. It was there that George he met his wife of 47 years, Carole Arch, and together they set roots in Clifton-Passaic, where he was a community leader at Temple Emanuel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Clifton-Passaic, and the Daughters of Miriam Center. George and Carole forged a beloved circle of friends who for three decades followed them to their home in Peru, Vermont, their favorite place, for their annual Fall Foliage weekend.

As a child, George discovered his passion for cards and stamps, which he pursued throughout his lifetime. As a bridge player, he attained Life Master status and parlayed that skill into an opportunity to travel throughout the Caribbean and Europe in the 1970’s while running the daily bridge games on the ships of the Italian Cruise Line.

It was the world of philately that captured George’s heart. George considered himself more of a historian than a stamp collector and worked tirelessly to create the collections that told the stories in the way that he wanted to tell them. As much as George consumed himself with research, he thrived on exhibiting his collections and on the relationships that he built in the national and international philatelic communities. He committed himself to giving back to those communities by serving as the chair of the Philatelic Foundation and by serving as a judge and commissioner for countless competitions and exhibitions. He also introduced stamp collecting to the youth at YBH, a Hebrew day school in Passaic and at the Golda Och Academy in West Orange. His publications include United States Telegraph Stamps and Franks and The Pony Express: A Postal History. George was awarded the American Postal Society’s Champion of Champions for his exhibits on three occasions, with Wells Fargo exhibit in 1986, Across the Continent in 1993 and U.S. Domestic Mails 1776-1869 in 2003. Internationally, he received the Grand Prix National at Pacific 97, the Grand Prix in Australia in 2005 and the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Brasiliana in 2013 for his U.S. Domestic Mails exhibit. George received the John N. Luff Award for Exceptional Contributions to Philately, the Smithsonian Philately Achievement Award, the Mortimer L. Nieinken Medal of the Philatelic Foundation, the Distinguished Philatelist Award of the US Postal Commemorative Society, and the Alfred F. Lichtenstein Award for Distinguished Service to Philately from the Collector’s Club. In 2005, George was recognized with philately’s highest honor when he was invited to sign the Role of Distinguished Philatelists established by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain.

George loved to travel. Whether it was for Temple fundraisers in Nassau, missions to Israel, stamp shows from Seoul to Brasilia, riding the Blue Train or driving the route of the Pony Express, George, first with Carole and then with his wife of 17 years, Barbara Palmer, took in the food, the art, music and mostly the people that he got to know along the way, eventually touching down on all seven continents.

George extended and expanded the philanthropic legacy set by his parents. He was a generous supporter of local and national Jewish causes, philately and the arts. He sponsored the annual golf tournament benefitting of The Arc of Bergen & Passaic to honor the memory of his cousin Stanley Joel Feld, and provided annual funding for the training of support dogs through The Seeing Eye to honor Carole’s love of dogs. When George sold off the last of his Pony Express covers in 2019, he donated the proceeds to support the YBH. He tried to make a difference.

George was an avid golfer and skier. He enjoyed the ballet, symphony and opera, Johnny Carson and Johnny Cash. He never missed an opportunity to celebrate and to dance, wearing his signature white shoes. He was ever ready to share a good joke, or perhaps an old one. He was always humming a tune. George loved to live, but his greatest joy was to give, of himself, of his time and of his resources. He was a good man.

George was preceded by his first wife, Carole. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, by his brothers Arthur and Fred, his children, Larry, Andy and Sue, his grandchildren, Alexandra, Abigail, Isaiah, and Hannah, by his great-grandson, Archie, and by his extended family with Barbara. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Arc of Bergen & Passaic, www.arcbp.com.