Born in Texarkana in 1929, but raised in Austin where he specialized in Boy Scout canoe and bicycle camping trips, Ned played first trombone in the Austin High School Band and later in the Texas Aggie Band and Aggieland Orchestra.
An avid flyer, he learned to fly Piper Cubs in 1944 and Schweizer gliders in 1955. He was an Air Force Communications Officer in Taegu, Korea i
Born in Texarkana in 1929, but raised in Austin where he specialized in Boy Scout canoe and bicycle camping trips, Ned played first trombone in the Austin High School Band and later in the Texas Aggie Band and Aggieland Orchestra.
An avid flyer, he learned to fly Piper Cubs in 1944 and Schweizer gliders in 1955. He was an Air Force Communications Officer in Taegu, Korea in 1952 and ’53. Ned worked at keeping his father’s Texas Crushed Stone Company out of bankruptcy until he learned about management at the Harvard Business School in 1960. He then learned about selling computers from IBM in 1965, and started his own software company in 1968.
Ned has received more than a dozen patents on heavy equipment transport and weighing equipment. Cash flow from inventions paid for a wide variety of interests, including politics, barbershop singing, travel and writing.
He raised three daughters, all outstanding mothers and part-time missionaries. Sherron, my wife, has made “the last 30 years a lot of fun.”
Ned recently organized the Snead Institute to teach Spanish and Chinese to local elementary students.
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