He was born to Elijah Cutler and Tobitha Jane Earl Behunin on February 4, 1872 in Orderville, Kane, Utah.

William was the 2nd of 14 children. His siblings are: Elijah James, Hyrum Smith, Mary Jane, Amanda, Isaac Martin, Earl Farlan, Herbert, Leonard, Ira Mason, Delilia May, Leon, and Nellie.

In 1875, his parents moved to Richfield in Sevier County. Here they lived for several years during which time they lived the United Order. Then through a call from the First Presidency of the Church, they went with several other families to settle in Wayne County.

They made their home in Caineville, Utah. Here it was that Will learned to work with stock and learned to farm. They planted and raised sugar cane and made molasses from it. They planted fruit orchards, grapes, and other crops and farmed along the Dirty Devil River.

The farmers had a Co-op herd of sheep. All the boys of these families took turns herding the sheep. At this time Will was twelve years old and his brother Elijah (Lige) was fourteen. In the winter of 1885-86, it was Elijah and William's turn to herd. They herded the sheep about 11 miles out in the hills from their home at Notam. Notam is 12 miles up the river from Caineville. The boys had a sheep camp where they stayed for weeks at a time. They had to walk whenever they came home as their father only had one team of horses and had to use it for everything.

At Christmas time they came home, then went back out to the sheep herd. After Christmas, Will's father took a load of molasses and other produce up to the valley to sell so the boys came home again for New Year's. They played around the place with the other children most of the day.

Their mother grew nervous about the sheep being left alone and told them they had better get back out to the camp because there was a storm coming and it was getting late. By this time, it was late afternoon and it had started to snow. They started out at a fast walk but were heading straight into the storm and it came faster than they had expected and was soon dark. The wind was blowing icy cold, and the snow became deep.

Soon the boys lost their way. They struggled on and on. Elijah was a tall, thin boy and not too strong. He soon grew weak and could not go on. Will knew if they didn't keep moving, they would soon freeze to death, so he kept urging him to go on. Will was strong and he would get Lige up and pull him along every time he would stop. Finally, Lige said he just could not go any further. Will got him up and told him to lock his arms around his waist and he would pull him. He dragged him along, falling down and getting up many times.

Will worked so hard with Lige that he didn't get cold. He finally dragged him up under a big cedar tree and laid him down and built a fire. Then he tried to revive him, but he couldn't, so he held him in his arms and tried to get him warm by the fire. Lige never regained consciousness. Will held him and he died sometime in the night. Will had continued to hold him all through the night and when morning came, he realized his brother had passed away.

By daylight, the storm had passed and there was deep snow all around him. He found that he was only 1/2 mile from his sheep camp. He waded through 3 to 4 feet of snow to the camp without getting himself anything to eat. He got 2 quilts and went back to where he had left his brother, wrapped the body so that wild animals would not destroy it, and then started for home. Will knew the sheep couldn't move, so they would be alright.

It was about sunrise and he walked all day in the snow up to his waist and in some places up to his armpits. About sundown, he came to the top of the canyon where the snow was not so deep. The wind was icy cold, and it was a mile down to his home. His clothes were wet and by the time he got home, they were frozen stiff. He was cold, wet, hungry, and heartsick.

Will's mother was expecting her ninth child and when she got the news of Lige's death, was overcome with grief. She admitted later that she did the most foolish thing when she put Willie right on the pony and sent him on down the canyon another mile in his weak exhausted condition, to his uncle's place to tell him about Elijah and also that the sheep were unattended. When Will got to his uncle's house, he had to be taken off the horse, and the only words he said before he lost consciousness was "Lige is dead".

They had to cut his clothes and shoes off and then his aunt and uncle worked over him all night to save his life. His feet were worn and badly frozen. They put his feet in large buckets of molasses for a week to draw the frost and infection out. This saved his feet, but his ankles were always a bit stiff after that.

He met and then married Julia Ann Buchanan on 9 June 1895 in Lyman, Wayne, Utah. They were sealed on 30 September 1935 in the Salt Lake City Temple. William and Julia moved from Wayne, Utah in a covered wagon to Garfield, Utah.

Julia Ann and William had the following children: Leonard E, June (Moss), May Bell (Moss), Sylvester "Don", Nora Elfonda (Moss), Julia Luettia "Loretta"(Albean, Sorenson), Rhoda Elizabeth "Phyllis"(Stephens), William Marley "Tom", Tabitha Jane (Shaw), Nellie Wanda (Bodenhofer), Ralph Lavor "Lavar", and Barbara Coey (Isaacson).

William was poisoned with Botulism by eating canned food that was improperly preserved. He almost died from it. He never fully regained his health and was bedridden for the last few years of his life. William passed away on April 1, 1940, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was very loved and missed.