William Dayton McKenzie was born June 8, 1911 in Dayton, Nevada, the sixth of seven children born to Charles McKenzie and Bertha May DeWitt. He attended school in Smith Valley, Nevada, and moved to Reno in 1923.
A veteran law enforcement officer, William had worked for the Nevada Highway Patrol for 17 years, and law enforcement in general for 20. He had been appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Nevada Highway Patrol in 1952.
William died in a murder-suicide when his wife of 20 years, Viola, shot him to death in their bedroom and then turned the gun on herself. The couple had been living at the home of William's brother, Specs, at the time of their deaths.
Surviving William were his mother, Bertha; two brothers, Archie and Joseph "Specs" McKenzie; and three sisters, Mrs. Jessie Johns, Mrs. Mildred Sunley, and Mrs. Nellie Hinkle. His father, Charles, and a brother, James, preceded him in death.