When Joseph Frank Vanier was born on 23 October 1894, in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States, his father, Frank Vanyea, was 21 and his mother, Rose Vincent, was 20. He married Florence Susannah Rudd on 30 January 1917, in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 7 daughters. He died on 12 January 1982, in Cheboygan, Cheboygan, Michigan, United States, at the age of 87, and was buried in Pine Hill Cemetery, Cheboygan, Cheboygan, Michigan, United States.