Jack English Hightower

Jack English Hightower
U.S. Representative from Texas' 13th congressional district (Panhandle)
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Robert Dale "Bob" Price
Succeeded by	Beau Boulter
Texas State Senator from District 23
In office 1965–1967
Preceded by	George C. Moffett
Succeeded by	Oscar Mauzy
Texas State Senator from District 30
In office 1967–1974
Preceded by	Andrew J. Rogers
Succeeded by	Ray Farabee
State Representative 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	September 6, 1926 (1926-09-06) Memphis, Hall County Texas, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Colleen Hightower
Children	Daughters Ann, Amy, and Allison Grandson Drew Brees
Residence	Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Baylor University Baylor Law School University of Virginia
Occupation	Attorney
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy

Jack English Hightower (born September 6, 1926) is a former Democratic U.S. representative from Texas' 13th congressional district. Born in Memphis, the seat of Hall County in West Texas, Hightower was a United States Navy sailor for two years after World War II.

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. 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 tumultous 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 C. Wallace of Alabama.

Hightower was elected to the Ninety-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses, having served from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1985. In the year of Watergate, Hightower unseated the conservative GOP Representative Robert "Bob" Price of Pampa, the seat of Gray County though Price had no connection to the scandal which brought down the Nixon administration.

Hightower was a fairly liberal Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his monstrous mostly rural district stretching from Amarillo to Wichita Falls on the east. The district became increasingly friendly to Republicans at the national level, though Democrats continued to hold most local offices into the 1990s. Hightower won five terms in the position 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.

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 resides in Austin. He and his wife, Colleen, have three daughters: Ann, Amy, and Allison. He is the grandfather of Super Bowl XLIV MVP Quarterback Drew Brees.

Fraternity

A freemason, Jack Hightower served in 1972 as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas. He is a member of Vernon Lodge #655. As of July 2008, he was the oldest living past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas.

References

• Jack English Hightower at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-03-31

Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by 82-1: Pearce Johnson 82-2: Johnnie B. Rogers	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 82 (Vernon) 1953–1955	Succeeded by William S. Heatly
Texas Senate
Preceded by George C. Moffett	Texas State Senator from District 23 (Vernon) 1965–1967	Succeeded by Oscar H. Mauzy
Preceded by Andrew J. Rogers	Texas State Senator from District 30 (Vernon) 1967–1974	Succeeded by Ray Farabee
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert "Bob" Price	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 13th congressional district 1975–1985	Succeeded by Beau Boulter