[1] He was raised by his grandparents after his father died when he was 5 and his mother when he was 10.

[1] At the age of 18, he moved to Colorado Springs where his aunt lived.

[1] He enrolled at Colorado Springs High School but dropped out to work at a shoe repair store and later as a doorman and bartender at the El Paso Club.

[1] In 1943, he enlisted in the US Navy where he served during World War II.

[1] In 1945, he married Margaret; they had a daughter, Denise Young Smith, in 1955.