Jitka was born in Prerov, small town in northen Moravia, then Czechoslovakia to her parents, Milada and Jaromir Vyhnanek. Very soon the family moved to a large town, capital of Moravia, Brno. They moved to Prague soon afterwards and she spent her school years under the generalship of her father, who adored her and watchfull eyes of her mom until at the young age of seventeen she met her future husband, me Frank. No one would believe then that the daughter of a general would marry me, move to the United States and become an accomplished researcher and subsequently a passionate and loved by all,  high school science teacher.