Jack English Hightower

Jack English Hightower
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 13th district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Bob Price
Succeeded by	Beau Boulter
Member of the Texas Senate from District 23
In office 1965–1967
Preceded by	George C. Moffett
Succeeded by	Oscar Mauzy
Member of the Texas Senate from District 30
In office 1967–1974
Preceded by	Andrew J. Rogers
Succeeded by	Ray Farabee
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 82
In office 1953–1955
Preceded by	82-1: Pearce Johnson 82-2: Johnnie B. Rogers
Succeeded by	William S. Heatly
Personal details
Born	(1926-09-06)September 6, 1926 Memphis, Texas, USA
Died	August 3, 2013(2013-08-03) (aged 86) Austin, Texas
Cause of death	Parkinson's disease
Resting place	Texas State Cemetery (Austin, Texas)[1]
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Colleen Hightower
Children	3 daughters
Residence	Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Baylor University Baylor Law School University of Virginia
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1944–1946

Jack English Hightower (September 6, 1926 – August 3, 2013) was a former Democratic U.S. representative from Texas' 13th congressional district.

Early life

Born in Memphis, the seat of Hall County in West Texas, Hightower was a United States Navy sailor for two years during World War II.

Education and law career

In 1949, Hightower received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In 1951, he procured an LL.B. from Baylor Law School. Years later in 1992, he obtained an LL.M. from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1951 and immediately became district attorney of the 46th Texas Judicial District, based in Vernon, the seat of Wilbarger County. He served as DA from 1951 to 1961.

Political career

From 1953 to 1955, he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Hightower was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election held in 1961. While still living in Vernon, Hightower served from 1965 to 1974 in two reconfigured districts in the Texas Senate. He was a delegate to the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which met in Chicago to nominate Vice President of the United States Hubert H. Humphrey for the presidency. That fall, Humphrey narrowly carried Texas over the Republican Richard M. Nixon and the American Independent Party nominee George Wallace of Alabama.

In 1974, Hightower challenged four-term Republican Bob Price of Pampa for a congressional seat and won. Hightower was one of several Democrats elected due to voter anger over Watergate.

Hightower was a fairly moderate Democrat, and served a mostly rural district stretching from Amarillo to Wichita Falls on the east. The district had become increasingly friendly to Republicans at the national level, though Democrats continued to hold most local offices well into the 1990s. Hightower was reelected four times, mainly by stressing constituent services. However, in 1984, he was toppled by Republican challenger Beau Boulter of Amarillo, who benefited from Ronald W. Reagan's massive reelection landslide that year.

Personal life

After he left Congress, Hightower was from 1985 to 1987 the first assistant attorney general of Texas under Attorney General Jim Mattox. Hightower was also elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1988. He was later appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, a position which he held from August 9, 1999, to July 19, 2004.

He lived in Austin. He and his wife of over sixty years, Colleen (née Ward), have three daughters: Ann Hightower of Virginia, Amy Brees of Austin, TX, and Alison Suttle of Austin, TX. He is the grandfather of Lindley Thornburg of Virginia, Drew Brees of Louisiana, Reid Brees of Colorado, Audrey Brees of Atlanta, GA, Molly Suttle of Austin, TX and Nicoleta Suttle of Austin, TX.

Fraternity

A Freemason, Jack Hightower served in 1972 as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas. He was a member of Vernon Lodge #655. Until his death, he had been the oldest living past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas.

Death

Hightower died on August 3, 2013 in Austin.^[2] Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson said, "Texas has lost a true champion among its public servants and the Court has lost a colleague who at his very core was what a judge should be".^[2]

References

External links

• United States Congress. "Jack English Hightower (id: H000582)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.  Retrieved on 2008-03-31
• Memorial Service program - Baylor University
• "Jack English Hightower — Biographical Highlights". Baylor Collections of Political Materials. Baylor University. 2006.