Altenburg grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Chaminade High School, before his parents moved to Detroit, Michigan in his senior year. While living in the Detroit area, he graduated from Redford St Mary's High School in 1962. From 1960 to 1965, Altenburg worked as a camp counselor at a Hamilton County, Ohio Catholic summer camp, Fort Scott Camps. He earned his B.A. in English and International studies at Wayne State University in 1966. He taught English at the Elder High School in Cincinnati from 1967 to 1968, the spring of 1970, and the 1970 Summer Enrichment Program.