Margaret Earle Touchstone

Mrs. Margaret Earle Touchstone born on April 2,1929 in Madisonville, Texas passed away on her 96th birthday April 2, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Margaret is survived by three sisters- Janie Price of Houston, Ruth Ann Goddard of Conroe, Mary Ethel Butler of Olney; two brothers- Earle Parker of Madisonville, and James Parker of Giddings; and two sons, James Touchstone of San Francisco and Timothy Touchstone of Santa Fe. She is survived by 4 grandchildren, Brad Kornegay, Brent Kornegay, Brandon Kornegay and Triana Touchstone along with many great grandchildren. Margaret was married to Gale Houston Touchstone for 53 years and brought to life 3 sons- Owen Dean, James and Timothy.

Margaret was the eldest of 7 siblings and spent her early years in Madisonville, Hearne and Calvert. She had an adventurous way that did not always fit well with the confines of rural east Texas life. She wanted to see the world and have the resources to enjoy it. 

Margaret left home at a young age and ended up driving a city bus in Vallejo, California. This employment did not last long as it was soon discovered after running over a few curbs that she did not actually know how to drive a bus. She then worked various jobs to sustain herself and met her first husband William Jay Kornegay. From this marriage her first son Owen Dean was born on Christmas day after returning to Texas in 1945. The marriage lasted a short time and she ended up working as the first female dispatcher for the Bryan police department.

In Margaret’s free time she enjoyed the passion of her life which was flying and working on single engine airplanes. She had an adventurous spirit and flying was a perfect fit. 

In 1948 she met Gale Houston Touchstone who was attending Texas A&M. They married in 1949 and their first son James was born in Beaumont in 1951. The following year Gale got work as an engineer with Esso Petroleum on the island of Aruba in the Caribbean where Timothy was born in 1954. She continued flying with the Aruba Flying Club often with her young boys over rough, wind-blown seas to reach the neighboring islands of Curacao and Bonaire as well as Venezuela. Indeed, she had an adventurous spirit which was not tempered much by fear.

In 1963 Margaret and her family moved to Tarrytown, NY just outside of NYC where Gale continued to work for Exxon. In 1968 the family moved to Okinawa, Japan where her adventures continued and then back to New York in 1970. With her sons no longer at home Margaret continued to travel and discovered Ireland where she felt her roots lay. It was her favorite place and over the years she returned there many times. 

Margaret loved learning and studying history, taking classes for years and receiving her degree from the University of Houston in 1980. Margaret’s enthusiasm to live life to its fullest was evident even in her final days. We will miss her.