The oldest of 15 children (13 surviving to adulthood), Oscar grew up during the great depression in the area known as Grapevine, located in Perry County, 12 miles northwest of Hazard and is laid to rest here.

Before the age of nine, he was taking on more of the responsibility of watching four of his younger siblings while his mother did extensive chores outside, as his father worked as a coal miner and had little time for the work needed around the homestead. As a result, he did not finish elementary school and early in 1941, after the addition of two more siblings, the death of his grandfather and before his 14th birthday, he and his mother lied about his age and he joined the Army. He was on his way to Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, prompting his mother to confess the lie, removing him from harm's way.

On February 18, 1946, he married E. June Davidson who was also from Perry County. To this union, Phyllis Combs was born on June 8, 1947 in a Blue Diamond Coal camp where he worked as a pick and shovel coal miner, and 7 years later a son was born in Cincinnati. Oscar also had two more sons from later marriages.

Wanting a better life for his family, Oscar decided to leave his hometown in search of other opportunities. This led him and his family to the shipyards in Jacksonville, Florida where his wife's sister and her husband were located. Afterwards, they relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio where he tried his hand at several jobs, such as selling insurance. He eventually ended up in the food service industry where he found what would end up being his life's work. He started with a local drive-in restaurant that was later emulated in other parts of the country, Sugar n' Spice, and later on worked for Howard Johnson's. However, he finally found a position with Frisch's Drive-Ins where he was trained by Dave Frisch, proving to be very talented.

Looking for a company that may afford him the opportunity for advancement, he went to work for Jerry's Drive-Ins. There he attained the position of Top Operations Manager in charge of all new store openings and supervision of all management personnel, reporting directly to Warren Rosenthal.

In 1965, he left Jerry's Drive-Ins and joined Bill Johnson at Country Kitchen® as a franchisee, opening his first restaurant in Woodlawn, a suburb of Cincinnati. In 1968, after opening his 5th location in 3 years, he secured an exclusive license for the Country Kitchen® trademarks in 6 states & 27 counties in Ohio.

Over the years, Oscar opened 18 locations, operating at least 14 simultaneously, and consulted with the management of several of Bill's other franchisees. He also sub-licensed 26 locations in the Cleveland, Ohio area and West Virginia. During this time, Oscar relied heavily on the expertise of Dick Amann and his General Fixture & Supply Company to equip all of his new and uniquely designed restaurants, as they equipped many other Country Kitchen® locations too.

Needing an efficient way to travel between the restaurants, he learned how to fly with instructions from Ted Kissel, and proved to be a very talented pilot by achieving an IFR and multi-engine rating. Ted became a very close and valued lifelong friend.

In 1971, Oscar moved to Somerset, KY and in 1972 he built a home on a 127-acre farm with a private runway and homes for his parents and in-laws. He would live on this estate for the rest of his life. For relaxation, he enjoyed spending time with visiting family & friends at home, on the Ohio River, or Lake Cumberland, where he kept a cabin cruiser or houseboat.

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