Cleon Ochsner is a first generation American of German-Russian heritage. His father was born and raised near Ananjew in what is now Ukraine. His father's parents, brothers, and sister were forced to abandon the family estate, known as a Khutor, following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1920. They fled to Switzerland and from there to the U.S. in 1928. Ochsner studied German at Southern Illinois University and Stanford University Campus in Bad Boll, Germany. He earned a Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. Subsequently, he taught German in public secondary schools in Canon City, Colorado, and Hastings, Nebraska. He is married to Norma Nuss (also of German-Russian heritage). They have five grown children and nine grandchildren. They make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.