Lucretia Jane Tucker was born in Lineville, Alabama in 1927. Jane’s parents divorced when she was two years old, leaving her and her older sister to be raised alone by her single mother during the depression. Jane saw her mother struggle financially, which gave her a strong desire to make her own money and gain independence. She started working at age 14 at a 5 and 10-cent store. When the war broke out, she moved to Savannah with her mother and sister, where they all three got defense jobs. Jane worked as a welder building Liberty Ships. The work she did was dangerous and she was almost badly injured several times. When the war ended, she went back to school and studied dental hygiene. She never married.