Wesley Conrad Wehr was born as the only child of Conrad J. Wehr and Ingeborg (Hall) Wehr, in Everett, Washington on April 17, 1929. As a child he displayed an aptitude for music which was encouraged with private lessons. In his senior year of high school, two of his compositions Pastoral Sketches for Violin and Piano and Spanish Dance came to the attention of George F. McKay, then and instructor at the University of Washington.