A photograph of Xavia Hightower Howard possibly taken when she graduated from Williams Institute of Mortuary Science, Kansas City, Kansas. Her mother Victoria Murdoch-Hightower owned and operated Citizens Funeral Home in Wichita, Kansas. After her mother's death in 1942, Xavia became the proprietor. She was the first female African-American licensed funeral director and embalmer in Kansas. Xavia was active in the community serving on many committees and boards. She retired from the funeral business in 1998.