When Orlin Dale Willson was born on 18 February 1881, in Comstock, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, his father, William Henry Harrison Willson, was 40 and his mother, Viola Minerva Burdick, was 34. He married Mertie Etz on 12 November 1902, in Wilson, Menominee, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Wilson Township, Charlevoix, Michigan, United States in 1910 and Petoskey, Emmet, Michigan, United States in 1930. He died on 3 June 1940, in Fenton, Genesee, Michigan, United States, at the age of 59, and was buried in Boyne City, Charlevoix, Michigan, United States.