Louise Lorenzi Fountain was born Nov. 14, 1913 in La Belle, Missouri to David Lorenzi, a French immigrant, and Julia Travese. Her younger years were devoted to helping her father develop and manage Lorenzi Lake Park, which he built and opened in 1926.

Marion D. Bennett, Sr. was born May 31, 1933 in Greenville, South Carolina to a family of eleven. He graduated from Sterling High School and went on to Morris Brown College. After graduating in 1957, he later matriculated at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia where he received a Master of Divinity in 1960. Reverend Bennett came to Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7, 1960 to be the pastor of the Zion United Methodist Church. Reverend Bennett fought hard to get the Equal Rights Commission established in Nevada.