Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser (née Friedman) was born January 1, 1931 in Hammond, Indiana, the daughter of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom. Alterwitz-Stralser spent her childhood in Calumet City, just across the state line in Illinois, and was raised with a strong Jewish identity. At the age of sixteen, she met her husband, Oscar Alterwitz, at an Alpha Zadik Alpha (AZA) dance in Gary, Indiana, and the two were married in 1950.

Jerry Fox (1937- ) is a Las Vegas, Nevada businessman who owned Foxy Dog restaurant, several gift shops, Lasting Memories camera company, and Vegas Threadz wholesale embroidery company. He was born December 29, 1937, to Abe and Ellena Fox in Los Angeles, California. The Fox family moved to Las Vegas in February 1955, where Abe opened Foxy’s Delicatessen, the city’s first Jewish deli. After graduating from Las Vegas High School in 1956, Jerry Fox worked at Foxy's Deli for about ten years.