Odette Louise Shotwell was born to Robert Leslie Shotwell (born December 15, 1894) and Ruby Mildred (Sammons) Shotwell[2] on May 4, 1922[1] in Wiley, Colorado, and grew up in Denver.[3] As a child, she had polio;[4] as a result, she had "severe, painful paralysis which makes walking in an erect position impossible."[5]