Louise Lomax was born in January 1920 in Nottoway, Virginia, to James and Annie Shepperson Lomax. She graduated from the Saint Philip Hospital School of Nursing in September 1942 and joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) in 1943 as a 2nd Lieutenant. During World War II, Lt. Lomax was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, home of the Tuskegee Airmen, where she was eventually promoted to 1st Lieutenant.