Mazelle “Mo” Hightower

Mazelle “Mo” Hightower, 94, of Midland, Texas passed into the Lord’s arms on April 6, 2024.

The family will receive friends from 5:30 P.M. – 7:30 P.M., Friday, April 12, 2024, at Boxwell Brothers Funeral Home. Services will be at 1:00 P.M., Saturday, April 13, 2024, at Coulter Road Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

Mazelle “Mo” Hightower was born in Brownwood, Texas on March 27, 1930, to Lloyd and Wyna Isham.   During her early life she lived in Comanche, Texas and later she grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas and attended Riverside High School.  The Isham’s were faithful attenders at Riverside Baptist Church, and it was there that she met J.T. “Jess” Hightower.  Jess was attending Southwestern Seminary at that time and served at the church.  They married on June 18, 1955.

Mo was an avid sports fan.  She loved football and basketball, especially at the college level and she was a big Baylor University supporter.  Every March, she made her own March Madness bracket for both the men and women.  On more than one occasion, during the heat of a tight game, she would exclaim “They are doing it again!” only to find out later that it was a replay.  There was no doubt who she was pulling for!  And woe to any umpire or referee that made a questionable call, she would call them out! She was always a big fan of Amarillo High School sports.

Mo’s career in Amarillo started as the school secretary at Margret Will Elementary (where the students were more afraid of Mo than the principal), then as an aid at Tascosa High and ended her career as the Amarillo Independent School District’s athletic director’s secretary serving there for many years.  She knew all the coaches and ran a tight ship in the athletic department.

Mo was a faithful servant to many groups and activities at Coulter Road Baptist Church.  One of her great passions was the hand bell group where not only a ringer but she was instrumental in raising the funds to purchase the bells.  If you watched closely while she played, you could catch her lips move as she counted out the beat – she never missed a note! Mo also loved to rock babies in the nursery, she was exceptional at getting everyone settled down.

Jess and Mo enjoyed travelling and spent many vacations serving on mission trips, choir trips and going to the Atlanta and Los Angeles Olympics.  When the family was young, she dutifully served as a co-pilot on several epic, cross country car vacations.  We enjoyed many picnics at roadside rest areas from Pennsylvania to California.

Mazelle was mother to John Johnston, Juli Wilhite (Rod) and Jay Hightower (Debbie).  She was grandmother to Shane Johnston, Jana Johnston Dalman (Jerrod), Joshua Johnston (Heather), Bessie Johnston Hoffman (James), Kara Wilhite McElya (Danny), Kyle Wilhite (Shana), Bryan Wilhite (Brittney), Hollis, Hallee and Harper Hightower.  She was the great grandmother of Brooke and Blaine Henry and Deegan Dalman, Brylee and Breanna Johnston, Kelli and Jake McElya, Kyeler and Logan Wilhite and Hope, Fayth and Coltyn Wilhite and Kensington, Leighton and Ellington Wilhite and Esne, Dustin and Weston Hoffman.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jess and her parents, Lloyd and Wyna Isham.

Please direct any memorials to any charity that serves the blind or to National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230, (410)659-9314.