 Bill Grigsby was born in Wellsville, Kansas in 1922, the youngest of three sons of Harry Ludwell Grigsby and Elanore Amelia Grigsby.His father was a geologist, frequently unemployed during the Great Depression so the family moved to Lawrence, Kansas when Bill was in third grade.After graduating from the University of Kansas, Grigsby served three years in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II as a cryptographer.