Florence J. Murphy was a pilot and developer of commercial aviation in Nevada. She was born on December 13, 1911 in Fernley, Nevada as Colanthe Jones, but later changed her name to Florence after her favorite aunt. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno before marrying John Murphy. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1936 where Murphy began working as a legal secretary and had her first experience piloting an airplane. She later took piloting lessons, and received a piloting and instructor's license by 1941.

James Deacon was born at home in White, South Dakota. For the first few years of his life, the family moved around a lot to accommodate his father's job as school superintendent. Their summers were spent in a cabin on a lake, where Jim helped his grandparents in their store, seining minnows, clerking, and storing ice. From his eighth grade year through high school graduation, the family lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota.