Lorena Washington was born on August 4, 1960, to Richard and Josephine Hunt in St. Louis, Missouri. Richard painted houses and Josephine was a homemaker.The Hunt family was extremely poor, but hard working and they enjoyed a good home life. Lorena grew up with two sisters and they all learned to work extremely early. Lorena would often go with her father on his jobs, bringing him water and washing his paintbrushes when he was through.

By the time she was in school, Lorena impressed her teachers with her work ethic and dedication. She was not overly intelligent, but she made the most of her abilities with work and effort. In high school, she met Lyle Washington and they dated briefly before Lyle proposed. Although caught off guard by the quick proposal, Lyle seemed like someone who would be a good provider and Lorena accepted the engagement without really knowing much about her fiancÈ. After graduating high school, Lyle and Lorena got married and moved to Michigan where Lyle worked in the car factories.

Almost as soon as they settled in Michigan, Lyle began drinking and becoming abusive. He worked long hours and the slightest thing at home would send him into a rage. If his dinner was not to his liking or if the pillows weren't arranged just so on the couch, Lyle would push Lorena around and curse. This tumultuous family life continued for several years, with Lyle controlling all of Lorena's movements and actions. Lyle wouldn't even allow her to attend the funerals of her parents because he couldn't take off work and if he had to work, then she had to be there to prepare his meals.

When Lorena became pregnant, she hoped that Lyle would calm down some. However, the thought of having another mouth to feed just seemed to set him even more on edge. He became more and more abusive towards Lorena and she often hid black eyes behind sunglasses when she went to the store. Lorena had learned to live with the abuse herself, but she couldn't stand the thought of Lyle hurting their child. So one night, Lyle went in to work the late shift and Lorena loaded the car and began driving.

With her parents dead, Lorena didn't really have anywhere to go. She headed south where her grandparents had lived and her two sisters had settled. She headed to Highway 55 in Mississippi and drove until she almost ran out of gas and money. She ended up in Jackson and found a job waiting tables at a truck stop. After a few months, Lorena had a job at a department store during the day, and a job waiting tables at night. Her neighbors and sisters usually watched Jamie.

Because of working so much, Lorena felt like she lost touch with her son as he grew up. She missed the closeness they had experienced while she was home raising the boy in Michigan but there was no way to spend more time with him and still pay the bills. As Jamie grew into high school and began to show signs of being a standout football player, Lorena felt like he was more and more of a stranger.

Jamie accepted a scholarship at the University of Mississippi. By this time, her son seldom spoke to her and they often argued about his future, with Lorena pushing Jamie to choose a practical profession and Jamie holding out hope for a pro football career. When Jamie's football career was cut short by injury, their relationship improved slightly, and the mother and son learned to balance a relationship of distance. They called to check in with each other but it was clear that they would never be close.