William Donald Hightower
March 7, 1928-Feb. 22, 2016
Palo Alto, California
Submitted by Mark Hightower

William Hightower, age 87, passed peacefully at home on Feb. 22 after most of his family visited with him one last time. He appreciated the many caregivers who cared for him in his home over the last two years as well as the additional hospice team during the last six months of his life.

He was born in Missouri and moved to California with his family during the Dust Bowl era. He moved with his family from Hollister to San Jose where he finished his last year of high school. After high school he attended a Bible College for one year, after which he served in the U.S. Navy for four years. He married Darlene during his last year in the Navy, and after the Navy he attended San Jose State school of engineering while starting a family. Subsequently he attended Stanford where he earned a master's degree in electrical engineering. He eventually settled in Palo Alto with his family around 1960. Initially he worked in research and the aerospace industry, but in 1963 he joined the civil servant staff at NASA Ames Research Center where he worked for 25 years.

Bill will always be remembered for his love of flying. He built model airplanes as a child and at the age of 19 he got his pilot's license out of Reid-Hillview airport in San Jose. In the mid 1960s he became a flight instructor and continued to give flight instruction into his 80s, logging many thousands of hours of flight time. He taught both of his sons to fly as well as his grandson. He also enjoyed with his family flying, traveling in his truck/camper and motorcycling.

His wife Darlene passed away a little over two years ago. He is survived by his sister, Sue of Eugene, Oregon; his son, William of Palo Alto; his son, Mark of San Jose; and three grandchildren, Megan, Ben, and Beth.

Tags: veteran, teacher/educator