Studied welding and played football at the Mississippi Job Corps Center in Crystal Springs Mississippi where he met his wife Charlena Hoard. They had one child, Mariellen, born June 18, 1979 who preceded him in death along with three of his grandchildren, Talia, Dante', and Akelie Stephen on May 15, 2002. Otis is survived by one grandchild, Shekinah Hoard. He and Charlena divorced in 1985.