David Michael Kols
David Michael Kols
Born September 13, 1950 in Baltimore, MD and died March 13, 2018 in St. Louis, MO.
Beloved husband of Penney (née Yohncke) Kols; dear son of the late Henry and late Irene Kols; dear brother of the late Brian Kols and Adrienne (John) Boronow; dear brother-in-law of Linda Gehrt, the late Georgia (Jim) Arnold and the late Yvonne (late Vince) Glasgow; and uncle to Clare (fiancé Mikhail Peterson) Boronow, Katie Boronow, Angela (Paul) Klemme, Terry (Kelly) Obermiller, John Obermiller, James Glasgow and Eva Yohncke. Wonderful friend to so many from college and his years in business.
David graduated from Lehigh University – Class of 1972, where he majored in Economics, and was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. Immediately after college, David moved to New York City where he started a wholesale travel company in the Bronx, later moving it to Connecticut. In 1984, David moved to St. Louis where he headed UniTravel Corporation. In 1990, he opened Regency Stamps, a philatelic retail store and auction house located in Warson Woods, moving the company to Le Chateau Village in Frontenac, and finally expanding to the Central West End in St. Louis. He purchased several philatelic companies, and in 1992 he bought Superior Galleries of Beverly Hills, CA incorporating many other collectibles forming RegencySuperior Auctions. David was a true (and happy) entrepreneur at heart. He loved stamp collecting, classic rock music, baseball, and shared his lifelong passion of traveling with his wife, family and friends.
Memorial Service on Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 p.m. at BERGER MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 9430 Olive Boulevard. Visitation begins at 1:00 p.m. lieu of flowers, memorial Memorial gifts can be directed to Lehigh University in memory of David M. Kols, Class of 1972, at http://mylehigh.lehigh.edu/makeagift. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information.
I was friend of Dave from Lehigh. He was one of a kind and was a great friend. We had some memorable times at Lehigh.
I am a friend and fraternity brother of Dave’s from Lehigh and later when he lived in NYC. Although I haven’t seen Dave in many years, I only have wonderful memories of him. He was the life of the party and a truly dynamic person. One incident I remember was when a whole group of us (about 10) went out to dinner in NYC at a very good Italian restaurant. This is when we were in our 20’s. Dave picked up the tab for everyone. He was a very generous guy. I will miss him.
I was David’s fraternity brother at Lehigh.
Dave was a great guy who you knew would be successful in every aspect of life. Always thought I would get together with David in our senior years to share happy tines together at Lehigh. Unfortunately life goes by quickly and these plans never come to fruition. My condolences to all his wife and family.
Wasko
David made it happen for me! I was his and Penney’s humble tour guide during their vacation in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia in 1989. David and Penney graciously sent airline tickets for me and my husband to come and visit them here. We stayed in their home for more than a week, after which they took us on a road trip through half of this wonderful country–which blew us away. David’s idea was to show us America the way he sees it and loves it, so that when we returned to the USSR we would tell our “comrades” the truth about this country. The only trouble was, he and his lovely wife made it impossible for me to go back to my motherland. I was completely smitten by the hospitality, kindness, generosity, and warmth of all the Americans we met during that amazing trip, and I fell in love with this country at first sight. So I stayed. It’s been almost 30 years but I keep repeating: December 14th, 1989, when our plane landed on American soil, was the happiest day of my life. Here I found new friends, a new home, a new love, and a new life–all thanks to you, David. I will be forever grateful to you. As we say in Russian, “For you, may the ground be as soft as down.”