Hugo Edwin "Ed" Auler

Hugo Edwin (Ed) Auler joined his parents and his Heavenly Father on October 14, 2023. Ed was a loving, patient, kind, pure-hearted, selfless and compassionate husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. Ed was born in Austin, Texas on July 28, 1945, to Mary and Hugo Auler. After graduating from McCallum High School in Austin, Ed attended the University of Texas for his undergraduate degree and met the love of his life, Susan Teeple. Ed and Susan married on June 17, 1967, and Ed continued his education at the University of Texas School of Law, wrote for the Law Review, and received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1969. Ed was honored with a law clerkship for Judge Joe Greenhill at the Texas Supreme Court, which solidified his fervor for constitutional law before joining the Austin firm of Kendall, Randall, Finch and Osborne. Ed enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland, where he completed his training before moving back to Austin in 1970.

Then in 1973, Ed and Susan took a trip to France to look at some of the French breed of cattle for potentially crossing with their Angus herd in the Hill Country. This trip dramatically changed their lives. Ed was practicing law and had taken over the operation of his family’s Hill Country ranch, and he wanted to consider ways to upgrade his ranching operation to enhance the profitability. Susan was interested in seeing the major wine regions in France, as they had developed an interest in wines. They did visit a French cattle operation, but the bottom line was that they spent 19 days of that trip enjoying the French wine country from Reims to Burgundy to Rhone to Bordeaux and Loire and only 2 days looking at cattle! They both gained a rapid education and appreciation of the French wines, foods and culture.

Within 2 years of that trip, the Aulers had planted a ,small vineyard on their Fall Creek Ranch to experiment with growing grapes and making wine. That plot grew from ¼ acre to 7 ½ acres in 1980, and Ed decided to give up his law practice. The Aulers then purchased 400 acres along the west side of Lake Buchanan which became the home of Fall Creek Vineyards. So, a chance trip to France changed Ed’s professional focus from law and ranching to wine. While also having business interests over the years in oil and gas, banking and real estate, Ed’s passion was the wine business.

Today, Fall Creek Vineyards enjoys a second location, which sits on 17 acres directly across the road from the legendary Salt Lick BBQ restaurant in Driftwood, Texas. In addition to hundreds of awards for his wines, Ed has been honored with the Louis F. Qualia Award, the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Merit Award, the “People of Vision” Award by the Texas Society to Prevent Blindness, and the Service Award from the Colorado River Foundation, to name a few. Additionally, Fall Creek wines have been served at four Presidential Inaugurations, the Texas Governor’s Mansion, and at prestigious State dinners. Ed and Susan also founded the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, which today is known as the Austin Food and Wine Festival.

Community was important to Ed, and he served on numerous boards within the Austin community. He was an Advisory Board Member of Frost Bank, a Board Member of St. David’s Hospital Foundation and a Past Board Member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Ed was also a Past-President of the Admirals Club of Austin and Tarry House.

Ed loved traveling the world, and he enjoyed the outdoors. He and Susan were always planning their next trip. Some of their favorite trips included locations in Europe, Africa, Australia and the Holy Land. Ed was also a pilot for 39 years. He loved flying, and he shared his passion with a young man who was considering an application to the Air Force Academy. Ed introduced the young man to flying by taking him up in his plane. That experience had a profound effect, as the young man would one day pilot Air Force One and become Commander of the Air Force One program. Another of Ed’s passions as a younger man was music, and he showcased that interest by playing the guitar. Ed loved history, geography and archeology, and he was a wealth of knowledge on those topics. However, Ed’s greatest passion in life was his family. Ed and Susan are the proud parents of Chad Auler (Stacy) and Mark Auler (Clary). They are also the grandparents of Yates Auler, Charles Auler, Ash Auler, Daisy Auler and Shelby Auler. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Ann Meyers. As a father, Ed coached youth basketball and spent countless weekends with his sons hunting and fishing. As a grandfather, Ed was often present at football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, softball and lacrosse games as well as golf tournaments and dance recitals. He loved nothing more than spending time with his precious grandchildren, and the feeling was mutual as his grandchildren cherished every second with “Eddie.” We will all miss our beloved Eddie. God bless Ed Auler.

Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on October 24th at Austin Ridge Bible Church, Worship Center located at 9300 Bee Caves Rd.., Austin, TX 78733.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Austin Ridge Church and West Austin Youth Association.