Editing Willard R. Espy (section)

== Early life ==
Espy was born in [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in 1910, the sixth of seven children, to Harry Albert Espy (1876–1959) and Helen Medora Espy ({{nee}} Richardson; 1878–1954).{{sfn|Espy|1992|p=258}} His father, a one-time Washington state senator, was of [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] descent.{{sfn|Espy|1992|p=37}} His mother was from [[San Francisco]], the daughter of a local preacher.{{sfn|Espy|1992|pp=255–59}}

He and his siblings were raised in the coastal village of [[Oysterville, Washington|Oysterville]], Washington, which had been founded in 1854 by his grandfather, R. H. Espy, a settler who arrived in [[Oregon Territory]] via [[Oregon Trail|The Oregon Trail]].{{sfn|Espy|1992|pp=117–20}} Espy graduated from the [[University of Redlands]] in 1930 with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] after which he spent a year abroad, enrolling at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] in Paris, planning to study philosophy.<ref name="bestof">{{cite book | title=The Best of An Almanac of Words at Play | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877791454 | url-access=registration | author = Willard R. Espy | publisher=Merriam-Webster | year=1999| isbn=978-0-87779-145-4 }}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |author-link=Robert McG. Thomas, Jr. |last=Thomas |first=Robert McG. Jr. | title=Willard Espy, Who Delighted in Wordplay, Is Dead at 88 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 25, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/25/arts/willard-espy-who-delighted-in-wordplay-is-dead-at-88.html}}</ref> He returned to the United States in 1932, working as a newspaper editor in California, later moving to New York City where he was eventually hired by ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' in 1941. Espy spent the next sixteen years working for ''Reader's Digest'' in various positions, including as promotion director.<ref name=nyt/>