Lucille (Lucy) Lemmon was born on May 30th, 1916, in Kelloggsville, Michigan. Lucy's mother, father, and older brother, Wayne, were all very musical, playing instruments together regularly. She was fond of nature and spending time outdoors. After graduating from high school in 1933, Lucy attended Junior College in Michigan, majoring in Journalism. Following that, she studied Social Work at Michigan State University on a Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) scholarship, which she attributed to FDR.

In 1941, Lucy drove from Michigan to California with a her girlfriend at the time, where they both got jobs at Northrup Grumman. Her parents later moved out to California as well and lived in Oceanside. Thanks to a Red Cross scholarship, Lucy attended USC, where she received her Master's degree in Social Work. During World War II, she worked with families of Marines at the San Diego County Red Cross Home Service.

Following World War II, Lucy worked in a child welfare job in Los Angeles County for the Bureau of Adoptions, where she stayed for twenty years. She also taught Social Work classes at California State University, Los Angeles. Lucy became close with her boss at the Bureau, Elizabeth (Betty) Cooper, and in 1953, they moved into a home on Mount Washington in Northeast Los Angeles together. Lucy and Betty stayed together until Betty's death in 1994.

As referenced in her oral history transcript, Lucy and Betty had many lesbian friends, and hosted parties for their friends at their home. Many of Lucy's friends and peers recognized her and Betty's relationship together as romantic. She often references her relationships with Betty Cooper (and with Gloria Tyner, Lucy's partner after Betty) as "very close friends" in official/legal documents.

Lucy was passionate about travel, and she and Betty traveled often together, to places such as Niagara Falls, Zion and Bryce Canyons, the Shenandoah River, the Smoky Mountains, Seattle, Las Vegas, Alaska, and Florida. Many of these trips were in 18' camper vans that she named "Gloria I" and "Gloria II" after feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem. Lucy also traveled abroad, beginning in 1964 with a Eurail pass that she used to travel around Europe, as well as to Peru, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, China, Mexico, and Ireland. Many of her photo albums document these travels.

Apart from travel, Lucy enjoyed jazz and classical music, playing the flute, fishing, giving back to her community through volunteering with local elementary schools, clean-up crews, showing up at city council meetings, and participating in political campaigns, and environmental activism groups.

Lucy passed away in her sleep at Solheim Lutheran Home in Eagle Rock at the age of ninety.