John Willard Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement, Utah, on September 17, 1900, the second of eight children of Hyrum Willard Marriott and Ellen Morris Marriott.
As a youngster, J. Willard - "Bill" - pitched in to raise sugar beets and sheep on the family's small farmstead. He quickly learned to rely on his own judgment and initiative. "My father gave me the responsibility of a man," said Marriott many years later. "He would tell me what he wanted done, but never said much about how to do it. It was up to me to find out for myself.