He was the second oldest son of Walter Desmond (1876–1951), a religious Irish Catholic lawyer from Boston who came to California in 1905 and opened a law office in Long Beach.
[3] In 1932, he met his future wife, Virginia Slater, at Long Beach City College.
He briefly attended California State University, Long Beach, but soon transferred to Cal Berkeley.
After graduation, along with Virginia, he attended law school at his father's alma mater, Harvard.
The Gerald Desmond Bridge, which opened in 1968 and connected Terminal Island and Long Beach, was named in his honor.