William G. East was born in Kansas in 1908. The "G," he insisted, stood for nothing, despite one aunt telling him it stood for Grant. He came to Salem, Oregon, with his family at a young age. His father worked at a Salem bank, and was killed in a fire at the bank around 1910. East attended the University of Oregon, earning his bachelor of law degree in 1931 and his juris doctorate in 1932. While in college, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps to help pay his tuition. In 1933, he and Louise Frances Wilhelm were married; they had later one child. He practiced law in Eugene, Oregon, until 1942, when he was called up to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served from 1942 to 1946. After his discharge, he returned to private law practice in Eugene. He served as city attorney for Eugene from 1946 to 1947, and in 1949 he was appointed judge for the second district of the Oregon Circuit Court by Governor Douglas McKay. He served on that bench until he was appointed to the U.S. District Court of Oregon by President Dwight D. Eisenhowser. In 1967, he took senior status, and he served in that capacity until his death in 1985.