Her father's career as a concert violinist was cut short by an injury to his left hand.
Her mother married her father not because she loved him but because she wanted off the family farm.Their bitterness evolved into alcoholism.
Norma Zimmer, known to millions as Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady," was a product of this loveless and godless union.
It wasn't until high school that Zimmer had any religious training. Then, it was at the behest of her high school choir teacher, who admonished that no student could earn an "A" in his class without joining a church choir.
"I did join a church choir. It was the first time I heard the word of God," said Zimmer, keynote speaker at Sen. Orrin Hatch's 12th annual Utah Seniors Conference held Monday at Little America Hotel.
That was a pivotal moment for Zimmer, who was born in a log cabin in Idaho.
"He gave me a love for people," she said.
Through a couple of chance meetings with Hollywood agents and entertainers, Zimmer left her family's "tarpaper shack" and landed in Hollywood. She sang in a girls' trio for $250 a week. An agent kept all but $50 a week, promising to divide the rest among the four of them at the end of the 33-week contract.
"Guess what? At the end of the contract, there wasn't anything left."
In 1943, she joined a girls' quartet. She appeared on "The Bing Crosby Show" with Frank Sinatra and was heard on the radio.
She sang background on Lawrence Welk's albums, landing a tiny four-bar solo on a Thanksgiving album.
Welk invited her to sing the bit part on his live television show. By chance, a male lead singer became ill, and Welk asked Zimmer if she had anything she could sing in his place.
Zimmer sang "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Her singing was music to the maestro's ears.
"Quite by surprise and accident I was chosen to be the Champagne Lady," Zimmer said.
Zimmer's tenure with "The Lawrence Welk Show" lasted more than 20 years, until the program went off network television in 1982.
Cast members were like a family. They still keep in touch, she said.
The program was filmed live. "If you made a mistake, it was seen by everyone. Lawrence didn't want anyone to stop."
When the program ended, Zimmer went on concert tours. The show is still broadcast on public television. A new special will be shot later this year.
Zimmer sang the Lawrence Welk staple "Always" for conferencegoers Monday morning.
Zimmer credits good fortune and a devoted husband, Randy, for her happiness. The two live in Park City, where they ski at least 50 days a year, Hatch said.
One of the couple's greatest challenges was Randy's bout with rheumatoid arthritis.
He was bedridden for nearly a year. Zimmer, who stands at just 5 foot 2 inches, had to drag her husband around their home on a beach towel. They sought care from numerous physicians, including one who prescribed 75 aspirins a day.
On the advice of friends, the couple sought care in Desert Hot Springs. Randy Zimmer's pain was so great that the only place he could sleep was in a hot tub. "I would hold his head up."
Eventually, Zimmer found a physician who was working with a new vaccine. Zimmer tried it and regained his strength and mobility. He now takes the vaccine every three months.
"He's the picture of health, isn't he?" she said, introducing her husband.
Zimmer's comment shaped the framework for the full-day conference titled "New Visions on Aging."
"Most of us in this room have lived to see much of a century, experiencing a concomitant of progress and, in some cases, sorrow," he said.
Hatch urged an estimated 900 conference attendees to avail themselves of a technology exhibit sponsored by US WEST, which was intended to introduce seniors to the Internet.
"The computer makes Paris as close to us as Provo," he said.