Otis Graham Carr

Otis Graham Carr was born in Verda, KY on December 28, 1930. He was the 8th and last child of Andy & Myrtie (Pittman) Carr. The family moved to Sunshine, KY not long after Otis was born. The family made a final move to Harlan, KY when Otis was about 7.

It was around this time that he went to a friend’s house in Harlan whose Mom invited Dad in to wait and offered him a seat on a sofa, something he had never sat on before. This memory was something Otis never forgot. His family grew up in poverty. Otis worked during high school at a few different jobs but was most affected through his work at the local theater, where western movies were his delight.

Opportunities for employment were scarce in Harlan which led Otis to enlist in the US Air Force in July of 1950. Otis was a trained in Communications and his first assignment was Camp Romanzof on the western coast of Alaska, which was not even a US State yet. During this assignment Otis met a fellow airman who was from Iowa. He told Otis that he should write a letter to his cousin Marlene, whom Otis had never met before.

They did start exchanging letters when Marlene lived in Des Moines, fresh out of high school and sharing a place with a few friends. They arranged a meeting when Otis could come to Des Moines. Marlene was out with her family and had told Otis to just have the landlord let him in to their place and wait for her. Marlene remembers the first time she saw Otis he was wearing his USAF uniform and she thought he was quite handsome. The led to their marriage in Audubon, IA on December 23, 1956.

Otis was transferred to Torrejon AFB in Madrid, Spain in 1957 where Steve was born. Otis was then transferred to a base in Lincoln, NE where Peggy was born. He was then transferred to Hickam AFB in Honolulu, HI where Mike was born. The family was then transferred to Offutt, before a transfer to Ankara, Turkey in 1967. In 1969 the family was transferred to Kansas City, MO where Otis retired from the USAF in 1970.

Let’s step back to Otis’ employment at the theater growing up in Harlan. He saw so many pictures of the world beyond Harlan. There was no television while growing up, sparse radio coverage, and only what the newspaper could print from the world outside the mountains. It is possible that during this time Otis was instilled with a healthy case of wanderlust.

This wanderlust led Otis to take the test for placement in the military. He went with his cousins to take the test. Otis was given a technical position while his cousins were given infantry positions. They had hoped to go together but Otis went to the USAF and the cousins went to the Army where one of them did not make it too long. Otis recently had dreams about this cousin, Archie. He never forgot Archie and spoke of him often.

This wanderlust led Otis down many different roads. While stationed in Ankara he loaded the family in the car and took a road trip to Ephesus, Turkey; which is the church that Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians to. Dad loved history. He led us around the ruins and was as amazed as we were. He loved adventure!! During this trip the car broke down and was repaired by some young Turkish men who helped us on our way.

After his retirement in 1970, Otis worked for Sears as a kitchen salesman, selling appliances, countertops, whole kitchens if needed. After Sears, Otis worked at the Nebraska Furniture Mart for many years, where he was occasionally mistaken for Warren Buffett.

After retirement Otis liked to travel and spend time with Marlene and the family. Otis was blessed with 9 beautiful grandchildren, and 10 beautiful great-grandchildren. He always let you know that he loved you, and always said to pass his love on to whoever was not there during the visit.

Otis actively stayed in touch with his Harlan high school class of 1950. He started going to reunions in 1975 and kept going whenever they would gather, the last reunion being around 2015. Otis loved going back to Harlan and driving the streets of Sunshine and Harlan. His last two trips were in 2021 and 2022. There was one last classmate in Harlan that he would visit those last 2 times. He and Marlene would visit with Nancy, and enjoy trips down all of the memory lanes.

Besides eating like a teenager at times, Otis was faithful to go to the doctor for checkups or when something was not quite right. On July 19th of this year, we found out he had cancer in his pelvic area and on July 22nd we found that he also had cancer in his chest and back. He did not want to go through any operations to determine how to proceed. There were some difficult discussions with him that we had to have a few times before he fully realized what was happening. It was only 7 weeks after the diagnosis that Otis passed away.

On September 4th he woke up, we changed his clothes, gave him some meds and just sat with him. Around 2:30 we played ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ by John Prine. We held his hands while we played the song. It was during this song that he passed away. We looked around and realized he was gone. We then stopped the music and sat in awe at what just happened.

Otis was a man of integrity, a man of honor, a man who loved his wife and family more than himself. We never heard or saw Otis disparage anyone. Otis felt that all people deserved respect and love. He never set a bad example, he always sought to do the right thing.

Otis is a beautiful spirit who left an impact while on this earth. He is with is Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we will see him again.

Otis was preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and many other relatives and close friends.

He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Marlene; children, Steve (Patty), Peggy (Kevin) Kalal, Mike (Holly); grandchildren, Kelsey (Andy) Cunningham, Jackie Kalal, Natalie (Justin) Zabrocki, Hilary (Rachel), Hannah (Nik) Miskimins, Graham, Ryan, Emma, and David; great-grandchildren, Connelly, Hartigan, Calliope, Larkin and Gideon Cunningham, Max and Luke Miskimins, and Hazel, Piper, and Elliott Zabrocki.

VISITATION, Tuesday, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mortuary. FUNERAL SERVICE, Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, Papillion. PRIVATE FAMILY INTERMENT at Omaha National Cemetery.

Memorials suggested to the family for Gideon Cunningham (great-grandson).