Virginia Peaches Thurman was born in Oakman, Alabama on April 6, 1932, the daughter of Grady and Lura Cooper. She lived her childhood in Oakman until her family moved to Union County during her adolescent years. She lived in the New Albany area into her young adulthood. She attended Macedonia High School and met her present husband, Bill Pop Thurman in Tupelo in 1971. She and Bill were married on September 18, 1971. Bill was a Senior Economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and his job required him to travel to 8 states. During their first years of marriage, she often traveled with him much of the time. Later, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia for several years where Bill was officially based. In 1979 they moved to Jacksonville, Florida where they lived for 16 years. After Bill retired, they bought a motor home, traveled and lived in it for 6 years. Virginia dearly loved being nomadic and traveling. They even drove the motor home to Alaska and back. In 2002 they bought a h