Willard was born on September 18th, 1904. Willard's father was Willard Booth and his mother was Mary Ann Billington. His paternal grandparents were John Booth and Elizabeth Howarth. He had two brothers and a sister, named Cloyd, Melvon and Veola. He was the oldest of the four children. He died at the age of 59 on February 25th, 1964.