ormondroyd was born in wilkinsburg, pennsylvania, and grew up in pennsylvania and michigan before serving two years on a destroyer escort in world war ii. after the war he attended the university of california at berkeley, earning a bachelor's degree in english and a masters in library science. in 1970 he moved from berkeley to newfield a small town west of ithaca, new york. as of 2007 he lives in trumansburg, new york.