Daniel Russell Hightower Sr.

He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 14, 1939, to Dr. Russell Garnett Hightower and Margaret Ross Hightower, and raised in Florence, Alabama. At Coffee High School, he was president of the freshman, sophomore, and senior classes, captain of the basketball and baseball teams, president of the National Honor Society chapter, and Most Popular Boy.

He graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University, where he was on the baseball and basketball teams and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Skull and Bones Society. His medical training took place at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, serving as Chief Resident of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Hightower served as a Major in the U.S. Army in Munich, Germany, where he was Chief of Otolaryngology at the 225th Station Hospital. After returning to Nashville, he was in private practice for many years, pioneering the use of lasers in tonsillectomies and sinus surgeries. He served as Assistant Clinical Professor at Vanderbilt University, founded the Endoscopic Sinus Center at Baptist Hospital, served on the Board of Directors of Centennial Medical Center, and was Chief of Laser Surgery at West Side Hospital. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery, and President of the Nashville Otolaryngology Society.

He was an avid skier, boater, and golfer. He loved Vanderbilt basketball, Alabama football, and chocolate ice cream. He also founded a chain of restaurants, Princeton's Grille.

He leaves behind four children: Elizabeth Hightower Allen (Win) of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Anne Hightower Trainer (David) of Nashville; Daniel Russell Hightower, Jr., of San Francisco, California; Catherine Hightower Coley (Johnson) of Franklin, Tennessee; and four grandchildren: Browning, James, and Stone Trainer, and Camille Allen. He also leaves his brother, Dr. Ross Hightower (Linda) of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a niece, Dr. Jennifer Hightower of Portland, Oregon.

Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 28, at 2:00 PM Central Time, with a visitation from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Room in the Inn.