Ned Touchstone - Touchstone's Obituary

Touchstone's Obituary

At the time of his death, Touchstone resided on Lake Palestine near Tyler, Texas, where he and his wife had retired. Services were held on July 30, 1988, at the Osborn Funeral Home Chapel in Shreveport. As a hero of World War II, he was given a military burial and laid to rest at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Haughton, Louisiana, near the red hills and lush forests where he was born and played as a young child.

Most of his lifetime work was donated to the Noel Memorial Library at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. His large personal library became the property of his children. Touchstone was known for his vast knowledge of facts and ability to call to mind complete passages from the thousands of books that he had read and collected. He was a world traveler and could discuss nearly any subject intellectually with any expert. His expertise included the fields of ancient history, languages, sciences, poetry, art, and the Bible.

Touchstone was survived by his wife, the former June A. McGehee (born 1927), a native of Homer in Claiborne Parish; his father, Sam F. Touchstone (1904–2002), a taxidermist and inventor in Haughton in southern Bossier Parish, who was living in Bossier City at the time of Touchstone's death; a son, David Mark Touchstone (born September 23, 1952), a business lawyer in Shreveport-Bossier City; two daughters, Lia Touchstone Tippit then of Rockwall, Texas, and Lauren Touchstone Webb of Shreveport; two sisters, three brothers, and ten grandchildren. Touchstone was predeceased by his mother, Carrie Moore Touchstone (1906–1982). Sam Touchstone and his second wife, Lura P. Touchstone, operated the Wildlife Museum in Haughton.

Touchstone was a first cousin of former Louisiana State Senator Danny Roy Moore, a civil engineer and land surveyor who resides in Arcadia, Louisiana. Moore represented Claiborne and Bienville parishes in the Senate from 1964-1968. Moore's mother, Capitola Touchstone Moore (1903–2002), was a sister of Sam Touchstone.