Lorie Jones was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1975 to Sam and Linda Jones. In 1980, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee where Sam got a job in a factory. Although money was always short in the household, they were able to make ends meet with Linda picking up temporary jobs waitressing and checking out at grocery stores.

Lorie strived to maintain good grades during her school years. Although not blessed with large amounts of intelligence, Lorie always pleased her teachers with her effort and dedication. She worked hard and received mostly low B's and some C's for her grades, but she was always well-liked and welcome in every class.

Due to the shortage of money in the Jones family, Sam often fixed things around the house instead of buying new or taking anything to a repair shop. Lorie often watched him work on the toaster that wouldn't pop up or the fan in the bathroom that wouldn't run. As the years passed, she began making her own repairs.

By May of her senior year, Lorie was disappointed with her prospects for college. Her grades weren't that good and her test scores were really disappointing. Certainly she had no reason to receive any scholarships. She applied for financial aid, but the grants weren't enough to live on. So Lorie moved to Oxford, Mississippi.

In Oxford, Lorie enrolled at the University of Mississippi. As the years passed, she would occasionally take some courses and then take a semester off whenever she needed to work more. Her interest was in psychology, but she struggled through the courses. Just like in high school, she worked hard but rarely made above a C. Her relatively poor performance made it hard for her to justify taking out student loans. So in recent times, Lorie has primarily just worked for the University. She gets a small discount and takes classes when she has time. She isn't fulfilled by her job and knows that she doesn't want to do that for the rest of her life, but she isn't sure what she could do differently. Right now, she would describe herself as being in a bit of a rut, just working and not really aiming towards anything.