“I knew it was no joke because I recognized his voice,” Mrs. Kirksey said. “He said, ‘This is Willie Nelson, and I’m looking for Mr. Otto.’ I asked him to hold on while I told Dan that Willie Nelson was on the phone.”
Otto said he made it to the phone in his residence at the Belton Housing Authority as quickly as he could - Otto is 93 - and then he and Willie had a nice talk about old times.
A story in Sunday’s Telegram inspired Nelson to get in touch with his old buddy.
In that story, Otto described how he and his wife, Ann, who died of Alzheimer’s in 1983, had come to know Willie and how the entertainer went out of his way to make life comfortable for Ann. It’s a friendship that stood the test of time.
The men met in the 1970s when they lived in Briar Cliff, a subdivision near Lake Travis that the country western superstar owned at that time. Golf was the sport that made them buddies. They lost touch after Otto moved to Belton in the mid-1980s after his wife’s death. And Otto was stricken with prostate cancer.
In his comments to the Telegram, Otto frequently referred to Nelson, saying, “That man did more for my wife than any of her doctors.” Nelson was quick to pay special attention to Ann whenever he saw her, Otto said, “always giving her friendly hugs and kisses.”
The chance to thank Nelson for his special friendship made Otto eager to talk to the Telegram. “When Willie called, he said he was well pleased with the article,” Otto said. “He thanked me for the kind words and then we talked and laughed for a good while.”
His friends and family said the phone call cheered Otto tremendously, evidenced by a huge smile on his face.
Otto’s daughter, Nona Bailey of Wells, said her father has been quite ill for the past few weeks. She said she was grateful to Nelson for picking up the phone and thinking of her father. It gave her father a reason to smile, she said.
Elaine Murray, director of the senior citizen center, saw Otto’s change in mood.
“He was getting to where he sounded awful - really weak,” Murray said. “But then the story came out and then the phone call happened. He is so excited. He wants to talk to everybody about his wife and Willie Nelson.
“His enthusiasm seems to have spread all over town. There’s quite a buzz. Everybody at the senior center wants to talk about the man who’s friends with Willie Nelson.”
Nelson couldn’t be contacted for an interview due to travel plans and concert schedules. No matter, Otto said, “What counts is that he called. I got to talk to Willie. I tell you, Willie Nelson has a heart as big as Texas.”
tlunsford@temple-telegram.com
