Early Years and Military Service
Passman was the son of sharecroppers from Franklinton, the seat of Washington Parish in southeastern Louisiana. Washington Parish was also the home of another political giant in Louisiana politics, State Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa. Passman dropped out of school to work odd jobs but enrolled in night school thereafter to complete his high school education. He later studied at Soule Business College in Bogalusa. "He was a smart man, a self-educated man," said Paul Fink, Passman's attorney for more than four decades.
In 1929, having relocated to Monroe, he formed Passman Equipment Company, which was involved in the manufacture of commercial refrigerators and distributed hotel and restaurant supplies and electrical appliances. Passman's nephew, Charles Stanley Passman (1924–2009), also a Franklinton native, was his partner in Passman Equipment Company. Charles Passman sold the business in 1972 and began a long-term employment with the State of Louisiana, including service as Commissioner of Commerce and Industry under Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, a friend and colleague of Otto Passman. He was also the owner of Passman Investment Company. During his time in business, friends said that Passman learned the value of money and developed compassion for the poor.
In World War II, Passman was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Navy and served from October 11, 1942, until his discharge as a lieutenant commander on September 5, 1944. He returned to his mercantile business and remained a staunch advocate of a strong U.S. military force.
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