# Jack Hightower

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{{Short description|American judge (1926–2013)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = Jack English Hightower.jpg
| office        = Justice of the<br/>[Supreme Court of Texas](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Texas)
| appointer     = [Bill Clements](/source/Bill_Clements)
| term_start    = December 7, 1988
| term_end      = January 2, 1996
| predecessor   = [Barbara Culver](/source/Barbara_Culver)
| successor     = [Greg Abbott](/source/Greg_Abbott)
| state1        = [Texas](/source/Texas)
| district1     = {{ushr|TX|13|13th}}
| party         = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| term_start1   = January 3, 1975
| term_end1     = January 3, 1985
| predecessor1  = [Bob Price](/source/Bob_Price_(Texas_politician))
| successor1    = [Beau Boulter](/source/Beau_Boulter)
| state_senate2 = Texas
| district2     = [23rd](/source/Texas_Senate%2C_District_23)
| term_start2   = 1965
| term_end2     = 1967
| predecessor2  = George C. Moffett
| successor2    = [Oscar Mauzy](/source/Oscar_Mauzy)
| state_senate3 = Texas
| district3     = [30th](/source/Texas_Senate%2C_District_30)
| term_start3   = 1967
| term_end3     = 1974
| predecessor3  = Andrew J. Rogers
| successor3    = Ray Farabee
| state_house4  = Texas
| district4     = 82nd
| term_start4   = 1953
| term_end4     = 1955
| predecessor4  = 82-1: Pearce Johnson<br/>82-2: Johnnie B. Rogers
| successor4    = [William S. Heatly](/source/William_S._Heatly)
| birth_name    = Jack English Hightower
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1926|9|6}}
| birth_place   = [Memphis, Texas](/source/Memphis%2C_Texas), U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2013|8|3|1926|9|6}}
| death_place   = [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin%2C_Texas), U.S.
| resting_place = [Texas State Cemetery](/source/Texas_State_Cemetery)<br/>([Austin, Texas](/source/Austin%2C_Texas))<ref>{{cite web|title=Jack English Hightower|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=2997|publisher=Texas State Cemetery|access-date=2014-08-14|archive-date=2018-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303224334/http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=2997|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| occupation    = Attorney
| spouse        = {{marriage|Colleen Ward|1950}}
| children      = 3 daughters
| alma_mater    = [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University) [(BA)](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts)<br/>[Baylor Law School](/source/Baylor_Law_School) [(LLB)](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws)<br/>[University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia) [(LLM)](/source/Master_of_Laws)
| relatives     = [Drew Brees](/source/Drew_Brees) (step-grandson)
| branch        = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| service_years = 1944–1946
| battles       =
| footnotes     =  
}}
'''Jack English Hightower''' (September 6, 1926 – August 3, 2013) was a former [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) [U.S. representative](/source/United_States_Representative) from [Texas's 13th congressional district](/source/Texas's_13th_congressional_district), serving five terms from 1975 to 1985.

==Early life==
Born in [Memphis](/source/Memphis%2C_Texas), the seat of [Hall County](/source/Hall_County%2C_Texas) in [West Texas](/source/West_Texas), Hightower was a [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) sailor for two years during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). His parents were Walter Thomas Hightower, a greenhouse proprietor, and Floy Edna (English) Hightower, a homemaker.

==Education and law career==

In 1949, Hightower received a Bachelor of Arts degree from [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University) in [Waco](/source/Waco%2C_Texas), Texas. In 1951, he procured an [LL.B.](/source/LL.B.) from [Baylor Law School](/source/Baylor_Law_School). Years later in 1992, he obtained an [LL.M.](/source/LL.M.) from the [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia) in [Charlottesville](/source/Charlottesville%2C_Virginia), [Virginia](/source/Virginia_(U.S._state)). He was admitted to the Texas [bar](/source/bar_(law)) in 1951 and immediately became [district attorney](/source/district_attorney) of the 46th Texas Judicial District, based in [Vernon](/source/Vernon%2C_Texas), the seat of [Wilbarger County](/source/Wilbarger_County%2C_Texas). He served as DA from 1951 to 1961.

==Political career==
From 1953 to 1955, he was a member of the [Texas House of Representatives](/source/Texas_House_of_Representatives).

Hightower was an unsuccessful candidate for the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) in a [special election](/source/special_election) held in 1961. While still living in Vernon, Hightower served from 1965 to 1974 in two reconfigured districts in the [Texas Senate](/source/Texas_Senate). He was a delegate to the tumultuous [1968 Democratic National Convention](/source/1968_Democratic_National_Convention), which met in Chicago to nominate Vice President of the United States [Hubert H. Humphrey](/source/Hubert_H._Humphrey) for presidency. That fall, Humphrey narrowly carried Texas over the [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) [Richard M. Nixon](/source/Richard_M._Nixon) and the [American Independent Party](/source/American_Independent_Party) nominee [George Wallace](/source/George_Wallace) of [Alabama](/source/Alabama).

In 1974, Hightower challenged four-term [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) [Bob Price](/source/Bob_Price_(Texas_politician)) of [Pampa](/source/Pampa%2C_Texas) for a congressional seat and won.  Hightower was one of several Democrats elected due to voter anger over [Watergate](/source/Watergate).

Hightower was a fairly moderate Democrat, and served a district that was mostly rural, stretching from [Amarillo](/source/Amarillo%2C_Texas) to [Wichita Falls](/source/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](/source/Beau_Boulter) of Amarillo, who benefited from [Ronald W. Reagan](/source/Ronald_W._Reagan)'s massive reelection landslide that year.

==Personal life==
[[File:CAC CC 001 18 26 0000 2530.jpg|thumb|Hightower (right), with Speaker [Carl Albert](/source/Carl_Albert) (left) and his wife Colleen.]]
After he left Congress, Hightower was the first assistant attorney general of Texas under [Attorney General](/source/Attorney_General_of_Texas)  [Jim Mattox](/source/Jim_Mattox) from 1985 to 1987. Hightower was also elected to the [Texas Supreme Court](/source/Texas_Supreme_Court) in 1988. He was later appointed by U.S. President [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) to the [National Commission on Libraries and Information Science](/source/National_Commission_on_Libraries_and_Information_Science), a position which he held from August 9, 1999, to July 19, 2004.

Hightower married Colleen (née Ward) (1927–2015) in 1950. They first met at Baylor where he was a law student and she was a music major. Colleen died in 2015 and is buried alongside her husband of 63 years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary for Colleen Ward Hightower|url=http://wcfish.tributes.com/obituary/show/Colleen-Ward-Hightower-102756979|publisher=Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes & Cremation Services}}</ref> They lived in [Austin](/source/Austin%2C_Texas) and had three daughters. He is the step-grandfather of [NFL](/source/NFL) [quarterback](/source/quarterback) [Drew Brees](/source/Drew_Brees).

Hightower is not related to former Texas Agriculture Commissioner [Jim Hightower](/source/Jim_Hightower).<ref>[Barone, Michael](/source/Michael_Barone_(pundit)); and Ujifusa, Grant. ''[The Almanac of American Politics](/source/The_Almanac_of_American_Politics) 1988'', p. 1164. ''[National Journal](/source/National_Journal)'', 1987.</ref>

==Death==
Hightower died on August 3, 2013, in [Austin](/source/Austin%2C_Texas). [Texas Supreme Court](/source/Texas_Supreme_Court) Chief Justice [Wallace B. Jefferson](/source/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".<ref name=theolympian>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Weber|title=Former Texas justice, congressman Hightower dies|url=http://www.theolympian.com/2013/08/03/2654934/former-texas-justice-congressman.html|publisher=[The Olympian](/source/The_Olympian), [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)|date=August 3, 2013|access-date=August 4, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130804060415/http://www.theolympian.com/2013/08/03/2654934/former-texas-justice-congressman.html|archive-date=August 4, 2013}}</ref>

{{Portal|Biography|Texas|Law|Politics}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{CongBio|H000582}} Retrieved on 2008-03-31
*[http://www.baylor.edu/lib/poage/doc.php/208064.pdf Memorial Service program] - [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University)
*{{cite web|title=Jack English Hightower — Biographical Highlights|url=http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=116639|work=Baylor Collections of Political Materials|publisher=[Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University)|date=2006}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-tx-hs}}
{{TXHouseSuccession box
|  district = 82
|  hometown = Vernon
|  before = 82-1: Pearce Johnson<br/>82-2: Johnnie B. Rogers
|  after = [William S. Heatly](/source/William_S._Heatly)
|  years = 1953–1955
}}
{{s-par|us-tx-sen}}
{{s-bef | before= George C. Moffett
}}
{{s-ttl
|  title= [Texas State Senator](/source/Texas_Senate)<br />from&nbsp;[District&nbsp;23](/source/Texas_Senate%2C_District_23) ([Vernon](/source/Vernon%2C_Texas))
|  years= 1965–1967}}
{{s-aft | rows=1 | after=[Oscar H. Mauzy](/source/Oscar_H._Mauzy) }}
{{s-bef | before= Andrew J. Rogers
}}
{{s-ttl
|  title= [Texas State Senator](/source/Texas_Senate)<br />from&nbsp;[District&nbsp;30](/source/Texas_Senate%2C_District_30) ([Vernon](/source/Vernon%2C_Texas))
|  years= 1967–1974}}
{{s-aft | rows=1 | after=[Ray Farabee](/source/Ray_Farabee) }}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| state = Texas
| district = 13
| before = [Robert "Bob" Price](/source/Bob_Price_(Texas_politician))
| after = [Beau Boulter](/source/Beau_Boulter)
| years = 1975–1985
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hightower, Jack}}
Category:1926 births
Category:2013 deaths
Category:Baylor University alumni
Category:Baylor Law School alumni
Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni
Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Category:Democratic Party Texas state senators
Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas
Category:County district attorneys in Texas
Category:People from Memphis, Texas
Category:Lawyers from Austin, Texas
Category:People from Vernon, Texas
Category:Military personnel from Texas
Category:United States Navy sailors
Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Texas
Category:Burials at Texas State Cemetery
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Texas
Category:Baptists from Texas
Category:20th-century Texas state court judges
Category:20th-century Baptists
Category:20th-century members of the Texas Legislature
Category:20th-century United States representatives

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jack Hightower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hightower) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hightower?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.