Ann Bernice Hightower, 94, who raised five college graduates and felt a devotion to civic duty, died Tuesday in her Chicago home. Mrs. Hightower was born in Athens, Ga., and moved to Chicago when she was 21. Her marriage to Charles H. Hightower Jr. lasted nearly 60 years before he died in 1986. She raised five children and all graduated from college–largely because Mrs. Hightower instilled in them the importance of education, said her daughter, Charlene Davenport. “She was constantly encouraging us to improve ourselves,” her daughter said. Mrs. Hightower worked as a precinct election judge for the Democratic Party and was the representative from the Athenian Club of Chicago to the mayor’s Department on Aging. She was active in the Metropolitan Community Church for more than 50 years and was a member of the Silent Workers Club. Survivors include two other daughters, Cecilia Gans and Ellen Hightower; a sister, Minnie Lee Houston; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Unity Funeral Parlors Inc., 4114 S. Michigan Ave., followed by the funeral at 1:30 p.m.
