True Otis Houghton was Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather and an important, though little-known, member of the Kardashian-Jenner family tree. Born in Oklahoma in 1904, he later settled in California, raised two children with his wife, Mary Lee Pickens, and worked ordinary jobs far from Hollywood. His unusual first name returned to public attention in 2018 when Khloé Kardashian named her daughter True Thompson.
Quick Bio of True Otis Houghton
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | True Otis Houghton |
| Known for | Being Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather |
| Birth date | December 4, 1904 |
| Birthplace | Holdenville, Oklahoma |
| Death date | December 25, 1991 |
| Age at death | 87 |
| Deathplace | San Diego, California |
| Burial place | Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego |
| Nationality | American |
| Father | Otis Sewall Houghton |
| Mother | Lula Laura Barnard |
| Wife | Mary Lee Pickens |
| Marriage date | June 13, 1930 |
| Son | Robert True Houghton |
| Daughter | Linda Lee Houghton |
| Granddaughter | Kris Jenner |
| Reported occupations | Bank teller and wholesale food salesman |
| Famous namesake | True Thompson |
Who Was True Otis Houghton?
True Otis Houghton was an American family man who lived from 1904 to 1991.
He was not a television personality, actor, businessman with a famous company, or member of the entertainment industry. His name became widely searched only because he was the paternal grandfather of Kris Jenner.
Kris was born Kristen Mary Houghton before becoming known through the Kardashian-Jenner family’s television and business empire.
True’s son, Robert True Houghton, was Kris Jenner’s biological father. This makes True Otis Houghton the great-grandfather of Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Khloé Kardashian’s daughter, True Thompson.
When Was True Otis Houghton Born?
True Otis Houghton was born on December 4, 1904, in Holdenville, Hughes County, Oklahoma.
His parents were Otis Sewall Houghton and Lula Laura Barnard. Family-history records show that True was one of several children in the Houghton household.
His publicly listed siblings include:
- Reuben Albert Houghton
- Howard Payne Houghton
- William Barnard Houghton
- Ida Mae Houghton
Census-based records place him in Jacobs Township, Oklahoma, as a young child in 1910. By 1920, he was living with his family in El Cajon, California.
Why Was He Named True?
No dependable family statement explains why his parents chose the first name True.
The name was unusual even during the early 1900s, but it was used as a genuine masculine given name rather than a nickname.
True may have been chosen for its connection with honesty, faithfulness, or loyalty. However, this is only a possible meaning based on the English word. It is not a confirmed explanation from the Houghton family.
The important fact is that the name continued into the next generation.
True gave his son the middle name True, creating the name Robert True Houghton. Many decades later, Kris Jenner said this family tradition influenced Khloé Kardashian’s choice of the name True for her daughter.
Who Were True Otis Houghton’s Parents?
True’s father was Otis Sewall Houghton, who was born in 1875 and died in 1954.
His mother was Lula Laura Barnard, sometimes written as Bernard in online family records. She was born in 1876 and also died in 1954.
The family lived in Oklahoma during True’s early childhood before becoming connected with Southern California.
Genealogical records identify Otis and Lula as the parents of at least five children. However, very little trustworthy information is publicly available about their careers, marriage, education, or daily family life.
When Did True Otis Houghton Move to California?
True appears to have moved from Oklahoma to California during childhood.
The 1910 census connected him with Jacobs Township in Hughes County, Oklahoma. By the 1920 census, the family was living in El Cajon, San Diego County, California.
True would have been around 15 years old at that time.
He later spent most of his documented adult life in the San Diego area. His children were born there, his employment was recorded there, and he eventually died and was buried there.
Who Was True Otis Houghton’s Wife?
True Otis Houghton married Mary Lee Pickens.
Mary was born on July 31, 1906, and came from Texas. Family records identify her parents as members of the Pickens and Douglass families, although the exact names are written differently across genealogy websites.
True and Mary married on June 13, 1930, in Cherokee County, Texas.
Their marriage lasted for nearly six decades, until Mary died in January 1989. She was also buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego.
How Many Children Did True Otis Houghton Have?
True and Mary had two publicly documented children.
Their son, Robert True Houghton, was born on May 12, 1931, in San Diego.
Their daughter, Linda Lee Houghton, was born on August 15, 1938, also in San Diego County.
Robert later became the father of Kris Jenner and her younger sister, Karen Houghton. Linda lived a much more private life and died in 2014, according to family-history records.
Who Was Robert True Houghton?
Robert True Houghton was the older child of True Otis Houghton and Mary Lee Pickens.
He later married Mary Jo Campbell, commonly known to Kardashian-Jenner viewers as MJ. Their children included Kris Jenner and Karen Houghton.
Robert and Mary Jo eventually divorced. Kris and Karen were then largely raised by their mother and later stepfather, Harry Shannon.
Robert died in 1975, when Kris was still a young adult. Public profiles generally describe him as an engineer, although detailed official records about his education and career remain limited.
How Was True Otis Houghton Related to Kris Jenner?
True Otis Houghton was Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather.
The family line is:
True Otis Houghton
↓
Robert True Houghton
↓
Kris Jenner
↓
Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian
Kris publicly confirmed this relationship in April 2018 while explaining why Khloé named her newborn daughter True.
She stated that her grandfather on her father’s side was True Otis Houghton and that her biological father was Robert True Houghton.
Was True Otis Houghton Related to Kendall and Kylie Jenner?
Yes. He was also the maternal great-grandfather of Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Kris had four children with her first husband, Robert Kardashian, and two daughters with her second spouse, Caitlyn Jenner.
Because True was Kris’s grandfather, all six of her children are his great-grandchildren.
That means the Houghton family line connects True Otis Houghton with:
- Kourtney Kardashian
- Kim Kardashian
- Khloé Kardashian
- Rob Kardashian
- Kendall Jenner
- Kylie Jenner
However, True died in 1991, before Kendall and Kylie were born.
Why Did Khloé Kardashian Name Her Daughter True?
Khloé Kardashian welcomed her daughter, True Thompson, on April 12, 2018.
When Khloé revealed the baby’s name, many followers wondered where it came from. Kris Jenner soon explained that True was an old family name.
Kris said her paternal grandfather was True Otis Houghton and her father was Robert True Houghton. She expressed excitement that Khloé had continued the tradition.
The name therefore honours two generations of Kris Jenner’s biological father’s family.
How Is True Otis Houghton Related to True Thompson?
True Otis Houghton is True Thompson’s maternal great-great-grandfather.
The connection follows this line:
- True Otis Houghton was Robert True Houghton’s father.
- Robert was Kris Jenner’s father.
- Kris is Khloé Kardashian’s mother.
- Khloé is True Thompson’s mother.
This makes the younger True the fifth generation in that part of the family line.
Her first name keeps a piece of the Houghton family’s history alive, even though she was born 114 years after True Otis Houghton.
What Did True Otis Houghton Do for a Living?
Census-based genealogy records provide two documented occupations.
In the 1940 United States Census, True was recorded as working as a bank teller in San Diego.
By the 1950 census, he was listed as a wholesale food salesman.
These ordinary jobs make his story very different from that of his famous descendants.
There is no reliable evidence that True owned a huge business, worked in Hollywood, managed celebrities, or built a large public fortune. He appears to have lived a conventional working life in Southern California.
Was True Otis Houghton Wealthy?
True Otis Houghton’s personal net worth is unknown.
No public financial records explain his salary, property holdings, savings, investments, or estate value.
His work as a bank teller and wholesale food salesman suggests a stable professional life, but it does not provide enough information to calculate his wealth.
Modern Kardashian-Jenner business success came many years later and should not be counted as True’s personal fortune.
Websites that assign him a large net worth are likely estimating without reliable evidence.
Did True Otis Houghton Serve in the Military?
Online family-history pages sometimes refer to a World War II draft-registration record connected with True Otis Houghton.
Registering for the draft does not automatically prove that a person entered active military service.
No dependable publicly available biography reviewed for this article clearly confirms his branch, rank, unit, deployment, or service dates.
The safest conclusion is that a draft-registration document may exist, but a full military career has not been established through reliable public records.
Did True Otis Houghton Ever Appear on Television?
No. True died long before the Kardashian-Jenner family became television stars.
He died in 1991, while Keeping Up with the Kardashians did not begin until 2007.
There is no evidence that he worked as an actor, appeared on reality television, or gave recorded media interviews.
Any images of him shared today are likely old family photographs, genealogy images, or copies of historical documents rather than professional celebrity pictures.
Are There Real Photos of True Otis Houghton?
Very few publicly verified photographs of True Otis Houghton are available.
Genealogy profiles sometimes show an image connected with his name, but such photographs may have been uploaded by private family-tree users. They do not always include information confirming the person, date, or original owner.
Kris Jenner’s 2018 post explaining True Thompson’s name focused on the newborn child and the family-name story rather than offering a clearly identified portrait of her grandfather.
Readers should be careful with images on biography websites. A photograph should not be labelled as True Otis Houghton unless it can be connected with a dependable family source or historical record.
When Did True Otis Houghton Die?
True Otis Houghton died on December 25, 1991.
He was 87 years old and died in San Diego County, California.
His wife, Mary Lee, had died nearly three years earlier in January 1989.
True was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego. Cemetery and family-history records consistently provide the same birth date, death date, and burial location.
What Was True Otis Houghton’s Cause of Death?
True Otis Houghton’s cause of death has not been clearly reported in dependable public sources.
He died at age 87, but his health condition and final circumstances remain private.
Some low-quality biography websites may try to assign a specific illness based only on his age. That would be speculation.
The confirmed information is limited to his death date, age, location, and burial place.
Did True Otis Houghton Know His Famous Great-Grandchildren?
True lived long enough to know that Kris Jenner had children.
When he died in 1991, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian had already been born.
However, no public family interview explains how often he saw them or what kind of relationship he had with them.
He died before Kendall and Kylie Jenner were born and many years before the family became internationally famous.
It would therefore be inaccurate to invent stories about him predicting their success or participating in their later entertainment careers.
Why Is True Otis Houghton Popular Online?
Interest in True Otis Houghton began growing after Khloé Kardashian announced her daughter’s name in 2018.
Fans wanted to understand why she chose True, especially because it was an uncommon name.
Kris Jenner’s explanation led readers to explore the Houghton side of the family tree. Many learned for the first time that Kris’s birth surname was Houghton and that both her father and grandfather carried the name True.
Common online questions include:
- Who was True Otis Houghton?
- Was he Kris Jenner’s grandfather?
- Why was Khloé’s daughter named True?
- What did True Otis Houghton do?
- Where was he born?
- Who was his wife?
- How was he related to the Kardashians?
- Was he wealthy?
- When did he die?
- Are there real photographs of him?
His popularity therefore comes from family history rather than personal celebrity fame.
Common Misunderstandings About True Otis Houghton
One common mistake is calling him Kris Jenner’s father.
True was Kris’s grandfather. His son, Robert True Houghton, was her father.
Another mistake is describing him as Khloé Kardashian’s grandfather. He was her maternal great-grandfather.
Some articles also call him True Thompson’s great-grandfather. He was her great-great-grandfather.
His career is sometimes invented as well. Census-based research supports work as a bank teller and wholesale food salesman, not an entertainment executive or billionaire businessman.
Finally, no confirmed evidence shows that True had a close connection with the Kardashian name. Kris and her older children received that surname through her marriage to Robert Kardashian, not through the Houghton family.
What Is True Otis Houghton’s Legacy?
True Otis Houghton lived an ordinary life compared with his internationally famous descendants.
He was born in Oklahoma, moved to California, married Mary Lee Pickens, worked in banking and food sales, and raised two children.
His greatest modern legacy is his name.
By passing True to his son as a middle name, he created a family tradition that reached another generation more than a century after his birth.
When Khloé chose True for her daughter, the name connected a modern reality-television family with a man born in a small Oklahoma town in 1904.
Final Thoughts
True Otis Houghton was not a celebrity, but his name has become part of one of the world’s most famous family stories.
He was born on December 4, 1904, in Holdenville, Oklahoma, and moved to Southern California during childhood. He married Mary Lee Pickens in 1930, became the father of Robert True Houghton and Linda Lee Houghton, and worked as a bank teller and wholesale food salesman.
Through Robert, True became Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather and the great-grandfather of all six Kardashian-Jenner siblings.
He died in San Diego on Christmas Day in 1991 at age 87.
True’s life remained far from Hollywood, but his unusual name survived through the family. In 2018, Khloé Kardashian brought it into a new generation by naming her daughter True Thompson.
That family connection is the real reason True Otis Houghton continues to attract attention today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was True Otis Houghton?
True Otis Houghton was Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather and the father of Robert True Houghton.
When was True Otis Houghton born?
He was born on December 4, 1904, in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
When did True Otis Houghton die?
He died on December 25, 1991, in San Diego, California, at age 87.
Who were True Otis Houghton’s parents?
His parents were Otis Sewall Houghton and Lula Laura Barnard.
Who was True Otis Houghton’s wife?
He married Mary Lee Pickens on June 13, 1930, in Cherokee County, Texas.
How many children did he have?
He had two publicly documented children: Robert True Houghton and Linda Lee Houghton.
How was True Otis Houghton related to Kris Jenner?
He was Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather.
How was he related to Khloé Kardashian?
He was Khloé Kardashian’s maternal great-grandfather.
How was he related to True Thompson?
He was True Thompson’s maternal great-great-grandfather.
Why did Khloé name her daughter True?
Kris Jenner explained that True was an old family name carried by her grandfather, True Otis Houghton, and her father, Robert True Houghton.
What did True Otis Houghton do for work?
Census-based records list him as a bank teller in 1940 and a wholesale food salesman in 1950.
Was True Otis Houghton rich?
His personal wealth was never publicly documented. Exact net-worth claims would be speculative.
Was True Otis Houghton on Keeping Up with the Kardashians?
No. He died in 1991, sixteen years before the programme began.
Where is True Otis Houghton buried?
He is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, California.
What was his cause of death?
His cause of death has not been reliably reported.
Are there verified photos of True Otis Houghton?
Very few clearly verified public photographs are available. Images on genealogy websites should be checked carefully before reuse.
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