Changes

At the time of his death at the age of sixty-one, Touchstone resided on Lake Palestine near [[Tyler, Texas|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  [[World War II]] veteran, he received a [[Purple Heart]] for war wounds,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://peoplepill.com/people/ned-touchstone/|title=Ned Touchstone: Recipient of the purple heart medal|publisher=Peoplepill.com|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref> was given a military burial, and laid to rest at the Hill Crest Memorial Park in Haughton in south Bossier Parish near the red hills and lush forests where he was born and played as a child.<ref name=obit/>​

At the time of his death at the age of sixty-one, Touchstone resided on Lake Palestine near [[Tyler, Texas|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  [[World War II]] veteran, he received a [[Purple Heart]] for war wounds,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://peoplepill.com/people/ned-touchstone/|title=Ned Touchstone: Recipient of the purple heart medal|publisher=Peoplepill.com|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref> was given a military burial, and laid to rest at the Hill Crest Memorial Park in Haughton in south Bossier Parish near the red hills and lush forests where he was born and played as a child.<ref name=obit/>​

 

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]].<ref name=obit/>

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]].<ref name=obit/>

 

Touchstone's mother, Carrie Moore Touchstone (1906-1982), is interred at Old Town Cemetery in Haynesville in Claiborne Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Touchstone&GSfn=Carrie&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=15890296&df=all&|title=Carrie Lee Moore Touchstone|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref> ​His father, Sam F. Touchstone (1904-2002), a native of Clarke County, Mississippi, was a taxidermist and inventor in Bossier City. He was affiliated with a half-dozen [[Baptist]] churches during his sixty-seven years as a professing [[Christianity|Christian]]. Like his son Ned, he is interred at Hill Crest Memorial Park in Haughton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Touchstone&GSfn=Sam&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=99633398&df=all&|title=Sam F. Touchstone|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref>​

Touchstone's mother, Carrie Moore Touchstone (1906-1982), is interred at Old Town Cemetery in Haynesville in Claiborne Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Touchstone&GSfn=Carrie&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=15890296&df=all&|title=Carrie Lee Moore Touchstone|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref> ​His father, Sam F. Touchstone (1904-2002), a native of Clarke County, Mississippi, was a taxidermist and inventor in Bossier City. He was affiliated with a half-dozen [[Baptist]] churches during his sixty-seven years as a professing [[Christianity|Christian]]. Like his son Ned, he is interred at Hill Crest Memorial Park in Haughton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Touchstone&GSfn=Sam&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=99633398&df=all&|title=Sam F. Touchstone|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref>​

 

Touchstone was married to the former June A. McGehee (born April 19, 1927), a native of Homer in Claiborne Parish who resides in Shreveport and is a [[Republican Party|Republican]]. The Touchstones have a surviving son, David Mark Touchstone (born September 23, 1952), a business [[attorney]] in Shreveport-Bossier City; two daughters, Lia Touchstone Tippit then of Rockwall, Texas, and Lauren Touchstone Webb of Shreveport.<ref name=obit/>​

Touchstone was married to the former June A. McGehee (born April 19, 1927), a native of Homer in Claiborne Parish who resides in Shreveport and is a [[Republican Party|Republican]]. The Touchstones have a surviving son, David Mark Touchstone (born September 23, 1952), a business [[attorney]] in Shreveport-Bossier City; two daughters, Lia Touchstone Tippit then of Rockwall, Texas, and Lauren Touchstone Webb of Shreveport.<ref name=obit/>​

 

From 1981 until his death two decades later, Sam Touchstone operated the Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum on U.S. Highway 80 in Haughton. The facility showcases [[Taxidermy|taxidermist]] exhibits on two floors from floor to ceiling with specimens of animals from all over the world. After Sam Touchstone's death, his second wife, Lura Patrick Touchstone (born September 1931), of Bossier City and her daughter, Samantha Olson, continued to operate and expand the museum. The facility also contains artifacts of [[Native Americans]]  and a section on the outlaws [[Bonnie and Clyde]], who rampaged through [north Louisiana to their deaths in 1934. In March 2017, Mrs. Touchstone, announced that the museum has fallen on difficult economic times with declining attendance, and the future of the facility remained doubtful. She noted that many schools no longer send children to the wildlife museum on field trips though the facility had been very popular with young people in the past.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/haughton-museum-faces-closure/|title=Haughton museum faces closure|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Amanda Simmons|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ As of the summer of 2019, the museum, which is rated highly among its patrons, was still operational.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/touchstonemuseum/|title=Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

From 1981 until his death two decades later, Sam Touchstone operated the Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum on U.S. Highway 80 in Haughton. The facility showcases [[Taxidermy|taxidermist]] exhibits on two floors from floor to ceiling with specimens of animals from all over the world. After Sam Touchstone's death, his second wife, Lura Patrick Touchstone (born September 1931), of Bossier City and her daughter, Samantha Olson, continued to operate and expand the museum. The facility also contains artifacts of [[Native Americans]]  and a section on the outlaws [[Bonnie and Clyde]], who rampaged through [north Louisiana to their deaths in 1934. In March 2017, Mrs. Touchstone, announced that the museum has fallen on difficult economic times with declining attendance, and the future of the facility remained doubtful. She noted that many schools no longer send children to the wildlife museum on field trips though the facility had been very popular with young people in the past.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/haughton-museum-faces-closure/|title=Haughton museum faces closure|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Amanda Simmons|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ As of the summer of 2019, the museum, which is rated highly among its patrons, was still operational.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/touchstonemuseum/|title=Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>