When John Wesley Alyea was born on 16 August 1923, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States, his father, William Edward Alyea, was 39 and his mother, Whitney Jane Hamm, was 25. He married Violet May Cline on 29 October 1942, in Ryderwood, Cowlitz, Washington, United States. He lived in Kingfisher Township, Kingfisher, Oklahoma, United States in 1900 and Judicial Township 3, Kern, California, United States in 1940. He died on 25 March 1997, in Gresham, Multnomah, Oregon, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States.