Johnny Jack Nounes was born John Louis Nonus in Galveston, Texas, to Emanuel and Angelica (Pinto) Nonus, both immigrants from Portugal. They both immigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1872, and later married in Galveston soon after meeting. The Nonus family had fifteen children but six died at infancy; the remaining nine were Mary, Lyda, Annie, Mellie, Lily, Beatrice, Mabel, Johnny, and Francis. In 1900, the 1900 Galveston hurricane hit the island. During this devastating storm, Emanuel managed to break a hole in the house's ceiling in order to get all the children to safety; Johnny was ten years old.