Edward Earl Toutant, of Austin, TX, passed away on November 6, 2018 at Nazareth Home in Louisville, KY.
Ed was born December 27, 1951, in Annapolis, MD. He graduated from Trinity High School in Louisville, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Louisville Speed School, as well as an MBA from Xavier University. He started his engineering career with IBM in Lexington, KY, followed by a move to IBM in Austin, TX, where he lived as a proud resident of South Austin for 42 years.
Ed's passion for knowledge led to a lifelong interest and great success in trivia competition, including winning on Jeopardy!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and several other game shows. Ed competed in trivia competitions around the world, and was inducted into the Trivia Hall of Fame in August, 2018. He generously mentored many other aspiring game show contestants, and acted as a consultant on the IBM Watson Jeopardy! project. He competed in the acclaimed CU Boulder Trivia Bowl for 34 consecutive years, and made many deep and lasting friendships there.
Ed loved adventure. He ran with the bulls in Pamplona, went skydiving, and visited all 50 states. He was an avid supporter of Austin local music and culture. He regularly went to shows, played trivia in his favorite pub, participated in local theater productions, and co-produced films and records.
Ed was loved and admired for his generosity, humility, intellect, loyalty and sense of humor and fun. At his core, Ed was deeply connected to his family. He was particularly interested in the lives of his nieces and nephews and was an enthusiastic supporter of their endeavors. His family could count on him to remember birthdays with an appropriate song or an eccentric post card, to send long and detailed emails in the middle of the night, and always to be the last to leave family gatherings. Ed will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, William T. and Eileen C. Toutant.
He is survived by his brothers, William G. Toutant and Roy Toutant (Susan); sisters, Dr. Claire Toutant (Dr. Patricia Dailey), Anne O'Connell (Kevin), Amy Binford (Edwin), Lucie Mohr (Ronnie), and Sally Campbell (Dave); 17 nieces and nephews, Sara, Joseph (Josephine), Gregory, and Matthew O'Connell, Andrew (Scarlet), Daniel, and Dr. John (Dr. Meredith) Binford, Laura Barbour (Bo), Elaine Toutant (Andy Makielski), Allison Armstrong, Patrick, Valerie, and Anthony Mohr, Emily McKinney (Adam), Brian (Anna) and Jane Campbell, Colleen Fitzpatrick (Sara); and great-nephews and great-nieces Nathan and Margaret McKinney, Annabelle Binford, Emmitt Ballard and Oliver Campbell.
Visitation will be on Monday, November 12 from 3-8 at Ratterman Brothers Funeral Home, 3711 Lexington Road in Louisville. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church on Tuesday at 10 AM, with burial at Calvary Cemetery. A celebration of Ed’s life will be held in Austin at a future date.
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