William Brasher Sr. was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He worked in home and commercial construction, learned all aspects of the trade, attended construction and engineering classes at the University of Alabama, and worked for a commercial engineering company. Married at eighteen, he and his wife, Pat, had three boys and one girl. A layman worker for the Alabama Emmaus Community for ten years, he served as the lay leader for an Emmaus Walk. He earned a commercial pilot license and is a certified flight instructor, amateur photographer, competitive shooter, and gunsmith.