Julia A. Payne was born in the 1940s in Santa Monica, California. Her parents had moved to southern California from Columbus, Ohio. After Julia graduated from high school in 1963, the family decided to move to Las Vegas where it was “less hectic.” Her father was one of the first African American athletic trainers for a professional football team. Her mother was swim team captain at Ohio State University and knew Dr. Ralph Bunche. For Julia, adjustment to Las Vegas was difficult. The city was not as diverse as Los Angeles.

Therese Courture Thomas was born July 5, 1917 in Thistle, Utah. Her father, Earnest "Earl" Courture, worked as a railroad worker, a steel worker, and a building contractor as her family moved around Utah. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Thomas's father moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to work on Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) construction, later moving the rest of the family with him in approximately 1931. Thomas worked as amusican in swing and dance bands. She died October 26, 2001.

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