Willard Straight

Willard Dickerman Straight
Willard Dickerman Straight in 1917
Born	(1880-01-31)January 31, 1880 Oswego, New York
Died	December 1, 1918(1918-12-01) (aged 38) Paris, France
Nationality	American
Education	Bordentown Military Institute
Alma mater	Cornell University (1901)
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Payne Whitney (m. 1911–1918; his death)
Children	Whitney Willard Straight Beatrice Whitney Straight Michael Whitney Straight
Parent(s)	Henry H. Straight Emma Dickerman

Willard Dickerman Straight (January 31, 1880 – December 1, 1918) was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter, Army Reserve officer, diplomat and by marriage, a member of the Whitney family.

Straight was born on January 31, 1880 in Oswego, New York, the son of Henry H. Straight (1846-1886) and his wife, née Emma Dickerman (1850–1890), who was born at Beardstown, Illinois and was the daughter of Col. Willard Arms Dickerman (d. 1864), of the 103rd Illinois Infantry, and Margaret Elizabeth Deaver. The Dickermans were descended from Thomas Dickerman, who likely came to America from Bristol with the Reverend Richard Mather in 1636 and settled in Dorchester. Emma was described as an artist who loved poetry, pictures, and beauty in all its forms, but above all else, she loved people. His parents were faculty members at Oswego Normal School. Straight was orphaned at age ten, by the death of his father in 1886 and his mother in 1890. After his mother's death, Willard and his sister were taken in by Dr. Elvire Ranier, one of the earliest woman physicians in the country, and her friend (and fellow spinster who she lived with), Laura R. Newkirk of Oswego, women who were teachers and close friends of his parents, who cared for and educated the children.

He attended Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey, and in 1897 he enrolled at Cornell University and graduated in 1901 with a degree in architecture. While a student at Cornell, he joined Delta Tau Delta, edited and contributed to several publications, and helped to organize Dragon Day, an annual architecture students' event. He was also elected to the Sphinx Head Society, membership in which was reserved for the most respected men of the senior class.