John Willard Marriott was born to Hyrum Willard Marriott and Ellen Morris at Marriott Settlement, Utah, September 17, 1900. He was the second of eight children and spent his early years helping with the family sheep ranching business. In 1918 he left for Connecticut and Vermont to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Marriotts' first child, J. Willard Marriott, Jr., was born in 1932. By 1934 the corporation had added drive-in restaurants with “running boys” that provided customers with in-car service.