Panton was born 17 April 1936 in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica to Laura Louise (née Walker) and Vernon George Panton. Verma has two sisters: Faith (Baba) Panton and Sheila C Panton and one brother Cedrick Landale Leroy Panton. Faith died of cancer on October 31, 1991 in a nursing home in Santa Monica, CA USA. Faith and Sheila were never married and had no children. Verma has two nephews: Cedric Vernon Panton and Corrado L Panton, and one niece Brenda Panton. She attended elementary school at Claremont Primary School and then went to both Carvalho’s High School and Ardenne High School in Jamaica. Having completed her secondary education, she worked from 1956 to 1958 as an Assistant Land Surveyor in the Survey Department, when she won a government scholarship to further her education. Panton attended McGill University School of Architecture in Montreal, Quebec, Canada graduating as the first female architect in Jamaica as well as in the West Indies.
