A native of Jackson, Tennessee,[1] Thomerson spent portions of her childhood in Mississippi, California, and Texas.
[2] She attended the University of Texas, receiving a bachelor's degree in music in 1956 and a master's degree in 1958; she also studied at Syracuse University, with Flor Peeters at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, and with Jean Langlais in Paris.
She worked as the music director of University United Methodist Church in St. Louis, and taught organ at the Saint Louis Conservatory and at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville;[1] she has also worked as organist and music director at Mt.
[4] While at the University of Texas, Kathleen Armstrong met Jamie Edward Thomerson, marrying him on June 1, 1957.
The couple had three children, two sons and a daughter, and remained together until his death from prostate cancer on January 4, 2015.