Laura Carter Higley

HIGLEY, LAURA CARTER (1946 ~ 2024). The following is an obituary for former First District Court of Appeals Judge Laura Higley. The obituary was provided by the Higley family.

Former West U mayor, district court justice

Laura Higley dead at 77

Laura Higley — former mayor of West University Place and a justice on the First District Court of Appeals in Texas for 16 years — died Tuesday (Oct. 29) at the age of 77 after a five-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

A respected, low-key legal scholar, she and her chambers authored hundreds of decisions affecting the 10 counties in the district during her long tenure on the bench, beginning in 2003.

Higley was a fifth-generation Texan, born Nov. 27, 1946 in Port Arthur, the only child of Dr. L.C. Carter and Laura Lee Hampshire (Phillips) Carter. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur in 1965, earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from Vanderbilt University in 1969 and a master’s in that field in 1971 from the University of Texas-Austin. A fluent Spanish-speaker and scholar, she authored a social studies textbook still in circulation about native cultures and settlers, “The Texan: Man of Many Faces.”

She met her future husband, Bob Higley, while both were working on state senate staffs in Austin during two special sessions in the summer of 1969, and they married two years later.

After a decade of marriage, motherhood, volunteer service, and investing — she acquired a limited partnership interest in the Houston Rockets franchise, on their way to becoming World Champions — Higley changed direction in the 1980s. She was elected to West University Place City Council, also serving as mayor pro tem from 1985-87 as the top vote-getter among the council candidates, and was elected mayor from 1989-91.

She entered law school at the University of Houston, and in 1989, she earned her J.D., ranked in the top five in her class, selected for the Law Review, and named to the Order of the Barons and the Order of the Coif legal honor societies.

Her standing in law school led Higley to 13 years at the prestigious Baker Botts LLP firm — where she struck an unusual deal not to pursue or be offered a partnership, in return for ¾-time employment and the chance to strike a balance between family, work, and volunteer service.

“Laura, upon reflection, had committed herself to a test,” her husband recalled. “Could a woman have a career and devote herself to her family and perform rewarding work in her community?” Bob Higley believes her success, in an era where women were expected to choose a single path, is an important part of her legacy.

Laura Higley took on another challenge in 2002, when she was convinced to seek an open seat on the Texas First District Court of Appeals. She ran unchallenged, joining the nine-member panel in 2003. In 2008, she defeated an experienced Democratic opponent, winning by a slim margin, and in 2014 again went unchallenged for re-election.

“Laura Higley was a remarkable woman whose kindness and dedication to justice left a lasting impact on everyone she encountered,” said her friend of nearly 30 years, George Boehme, a former West U councilmember and publisher. “Her warmth and integrity will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.”

Higley’s volunteerism ranged from board seats on the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Junior League of Houston, Children’s Assessment Center, and Bo’s Place, serving as a member of the West U Rotary Club, to multiple roles related to her church of more than a half-century, First Presbyterian, serving with her husband as an elder, as a member of the Presbyterian School and Presbyterian Homes boards, and as development chair and general chair of the Nehemiah Center.

She also served as a contributing editor to the Federal Bar Association Senior Citizen Handbook, and to the Texas Association of Business and Chambers of Commerce Annual Employment Law Handbook

In addition to her husband, himself a former mayor of West University Place from 2019-21, Higley is survived by two sons, Garrett C. Higley of Austin and Carte Higley and his wife, Jamil, of Jackson, Wyo., and grandchildren Selah Lee, Grace, Bea and River Higley.

A memorial service will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 12 at First Presbyterian Church of Houston (5300 Main St.), where Laura was a member for more than a half-century and served as an elder, along with her husband.

Because of her stature as a justice, she will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery (909 Navasota St., Austin), with a graveside service scheduled for 1 p.m. on Nov. 13.

Her family asks that memorial contributions in Laura’s name be made to any of the organizations she supported or those of their choosing.