George Davis Raymond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 16, 1956. He was the first of three children born to Matt and Rose Raymond. Matt was a fleet mechanic for one of the Boston delivery companies, and Rose was a homemaker.

Rose suffered from severe depression, so George was expected to be "the little man" around the house. He resented having to spend so much time caring for his mother and his younger siblings.

As often as possible, Matt brought George to work with him to give him a break from all the responsibility. George was fascinated by the busy shop's sounds, sights, and smells and enjoyed fetching tools for the mechanics and helping wherever he could.

George's early elementary school teachers thought he lacked motivation and labeled him as lazy, but his fourth-grade teacher was different. She recognized his aptitude for math and science and saw that his lack of academic enthusiasm largely stemmed from the pressures of George's home life. This teacher encouraged George to work ahead of his classmates.

George discovered that when he was studying, he was relieved of his caretaking duties, so he dedicated himself to academic pursuits. By the time he finished the eighth grade, he was already studying pre-calculus, and in high school, he enrolled in as many advanced classes as he could.

When he wasn't studying, George still enjoyed visiting his dad's shop, and that interest showed in his schoolwork as he took electrical, wood, and metal shop classes for his electives.

During George's senior year of high school, his father died in an industrial accident. In the aftermath, George did everything he could to help his mother, but he couldn't wait to graduate and move away. Once other family members stepped up to assist his mother and siblings, he ignored the full-ride scholarships local colleges offered him and accepted a partial scholarship at the University of Mississippi.

George moved to Oxford the day after his high school graduation and never looked back. During his senior year at Ole Miss, he met Anna Lee Gibson. She was his friend's little sister and a senior in high school.

That summer, once Anna and George graduated from their respective schools, the two began dating. The couple married in 1981, bought a home, and had two children, Josh and Jarred.