James Austin "Jack" Cloudt

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved and cherished son, brother to Julia, JACK, age 18, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly as a result of a tragic auto accident on July 10, 2016, in Austin, Texas. Jack's passing has left a gaping hole in all of our hearts. His sudden disappearance reminds us of the mysterious 'invisibility cloak' in Jack's favorite book series Harry Potter...tell us Jack that we will see you again. Where did our little Harry Potter go?

Born in Kerrville, Texas, and raised in Austin, Jack attended Hill Elementary and Murchison Middle School, and recently graduated with an IB Certificate from Anderson High School where he excelled as a student. Jack was an active participant in many clubs, including but not limited to, the Creative Writers Club, PALS, Amigos, Leadership Council, Philosophy Club, and the Comic Book Club. Jack was an exceptionally gifted creative writer and won several awards in his short life including Rose Million Healey Award Finalist (Grade 9), Semi-finalist of the Texas Book Festival's Youth Fiction Writing Contest (Grades 10,11) and Winner of two Scholastic Silver Keys for two different short stories in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (National recognition in Grade 10) as well as an Honorable Mention - Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for a short story (Grade 11). Jack was preparing to attend the University of Texas at Dallas in the fall. He was so excited about the next phase of his young life. He was planning to major in History with a minor in Political Science, earn a secondary teaching degree, and eventually become a lawyer like his dad and Uncle Tom.

As a young boy, Jack was a member of Cub Scout Pack 511 and Boy Scout Troop 454. He spent many weekends away camping and traveling with his dad and the other scouts. He learned and mastered many valuable boy scout skills and became a licensed SCUBA diver and fired off Menthos and Diet Coke. He was a member of Tarrytown UMC and active in the youth program. A heartfelt thanks to David Chambers, Nathan Strange and Zac Gilts for your unconditional love and support of Jack through the years.

As Jack continued to grow and explore the world, we realized Jack was an exceptional child. We were awed by Jack. He was an avid reader with an insatiable appetite for learning new things. He always had a stack of books that he was reading and always enjoyed a trip to the library. On one trip to the library two summers ago, I recall sitting in the parking lot for about 30 minutes waiting for him to come out. When he returned, he had selected A Mid-Summer's Night Dream. When questioned, he replied that it was on the college reading list and he was trying to get ahead of the game. To say that I was awed by this is an understatement...of all the books he could have checked out. This was Jack...very inquisitive with a passion for knowledge.

Jack loved to watch old assorted TV series from yesteryear and was a big movie buff, frequently watching movies and shows late into the night with his dad. From all of the iterations of Dr. Who to Dark Shadows to Shark Week to Scream to Sherlock Holmes to Marvel Movies, and of course, all things Harry Potter. He loved it all! Upon hearing of Alan Rickman's death, (Professor Snape) Jack posted the following on his facebook page: "Thank you, Alan Rickman, for being a part of some of my best childhood memories. You'll be greatly missed." Clearly Jack was the biggest Harry Potter fan ever! Understand that Jack didn't just watch a show or a movie, but he studied it. Gifted with the uncanny ability to remember actors, characters, plots and directors in minute detail, often cross-referencing and reminding us all who had been in a previous movie and why it was important to the current plot. This ability to recall and explain to us was unlike anything we have ever witnessed. Again, we were awed by Jack. We were presently watching the CNN "decade" shows together because Jack was on a mission to learn everything about the '60s, the '70s and the '80s with the latter being his all-time favorite decade.

Jack was an intelligent young man with a promising future. There is no telling what achievements Jack could have made if only his life would not have needlessly ended. Sadly, the best of all of Jack's stories -- his personal story -- ended far too soon. We are left to imagine, to dream, of the possible endings Jack might have had.

Jack is survived by his mother and dad, Janet and Jim Cloudt, sister, Julia Cloudt, grandfather Charles Thompson, aunts Kay Estess (Sam), and Nancy Thompson Northam (Kelly), and numerous cousins. Jack was blessed with incredibly great friends, and he loved them all as if they were his brothers -- Reece Fish, Chandler Scott, Josh Player, Connor German, Thomas Brocato, Garrett Hale, Rett Evans, Henry Del Bosque, Mauricio Tellez Teran -- all of you meant the world to Jack. We pray that the memories of your wonderful times together will sustain you and give you comfort.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N Lamar Blvd.

Funeral services will be held at Tarrytown United Methodist Church on Thursday, July 14, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. Please join us in celebrating the amazing life of Jack Cloudt.

Our family wishes to honor and memorialize Jack's creative writing gifts with the creation of the Jack Cloudt Creative Writing Scholarship at Anderson High School for students with exceptional writing abilities. Our dream is to make this a permanent, recurring annual scholarship for graduating seniors who exhibit great promise as a writer. If you are interested in making a contribution to this scholarship, please do so in lieu of sending flowers. Your contribution may be made payable to the Jack Cloudt Creative Writing Scholarship Fund. You may send it to the attention of Jason Farr, Jack's beloved mentor and favorite teacher. Mailing address, 8403 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759.

John 14:1-4 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going."