Lucy Allen Lutz (King)

Lucy Allen Lutz (King) was born on July 13, 1929 in Byhalia, Mississippi. She had two younger brothers and grew up in rural Tennessee. She died on March 11, 2021 with her loved ones by her side. She had 91 wonderful years on this Earth.

Lucy's early days were spent in Tennessee on her father's farm, then at his laundry business, and then working her first job at a bank. She didn't talk much about her early years, but we know she loved her parents and brothers very much.

She met Don Lutz in 1953 at a USO event, where she was volunteering. They married soon after in September 1953 and had their first daughter Celia in 1954, their second daughter Lynne in 1955, and their third daughter Karen in 1961. After several years in Florida and California, Lucy and Don settled in Dunwoody, Georgia where their daughters and grandchildren grew up. They made many friends through Don's work at HP and traveled often. Lucy was an avid gardener and could always be found tending to plants and birds wherever she lived.

Lucy was a selfless, sweet soul. She always had a wink and a smile for everyone she encountered. She was usually shy, but her eyes lit up when she found an opportunity to brag about her grandchildren to someone she just met. She loved her family dearly and always picked out the best cards and gifts for everyone at Christmas. She had a knack for remembering the names of plants and just how to take care of them. She was afraid of tall trees, especially in thunderstorms, and would even wear a helmet during a thunderstorm from time to time! Although we teased her about this, it shows how sensitive and cautious she was. One of her favorite pastimes was birdwatching from the kitchen window. She'd often interrupt conversations with an exclamation that a goldfinch had returned, an attempt to identify a new bird at her feeder, or a polite request for a squirrel or blue jay to leave. Some other fun tidbits about her are that she never learned to swim, she didn't learn to drive until she was pregnant with her third daughter, she was once kicked in the head by a horse, and she often made fried baloney sandwiches for her girls when they were little. She also dabbled in ceramics and enjoyed collecting things like Hummels, Christmas Village houses, Anna Lee dolls, and Willow Tree angels. Later in life, Lucy found immense joy in reading.

Lucy could be picky. Pillows had to be just right, blankets couldn't be too heavy, coffee couldn't be too hot, fish had to be seasoned a certain way, and we won't even go into her obsession with finding the perfect-fitting brassiere. She let you know if things weren't how she wanted, but never in a disappointed or mean way. You always just wanted to make her comfortable because she deserved it, because she mattered, because she was sweet even if her requests sometimes felt ridiculous or unobtainable. Perhaps these fixations later in life were because she wanted to bask in some much-deserved attention, sending us all on wild goose chases just to be able to spend time with us. Maybe she was just feisty. Probably a little of both.

She never ate well, but was a tiny little thing and loved to sip on Coca Cola to help with her acid reflux. We know this doesn't make sense. We tried to explain, but it didn't work. We fussed at her to drink more water, but that never ended well. She loved coffee too, and would heat up the same cup repeatedly to get the temperature just right. She made the best sweet tea, and even though she told us how to make it, we still can't do it like she did.

Everyone who knew her well inherited a piece of her. Our stories are forever entwined with hers. Don, her husband who passed away in 2005, got to spend the most precious time with her. New love, starting life, changing jobs, growing a family, traveling, meeting grandchildren, dealing with illness and death. These are all things they weathered together over their 50 plus years of marriage.

Celia, her oldest daughter who passed away in 1996, got her love of Christmas and her craftiness. After Celia's death, Lucy had a love for anything with angels, since her first daughter became one.

Lynne, Lucy's second daughter, got her mother's cautious and anxious personality, but also her special brand of sweet and sassy. Lucy gave birth to Lynne only one year after having Celia, and often dressed them alike and cut their hair alike when they were little. The photos of this are priceless. Neither Lucy nor Lynne could cook well, and they didn't like crowds, but they both enjoyed having our little family together, especially for holidays.

Karen, the precious youngest daughter, was blessed by Lucy's green thumb and ability to make anything she touches look beautiful. They loved shopping, having coffee together, going out to eat, and getting their hair done (thank you, Rebecca!). Karen was always bringing Lucy home new books or other things she needed, including countless boxes of Kleenex. She relied on both Lynne and Karen a lot for different things and they were always willing to help.

And now for the grandchildren. To us, Lucy is MaMa (pronounced "Maw-Maw"). Joe, Lucy's first grandchild and only grandson, has her kind eyes. If you look at a picture of either of them, their eyes have a certain gleam. They also shared a love of Dunwoody, Publix potato salad, and Atlanta Falcons football and Atlanta Braves baseball. Joe wrote down the schedules for her and helped to remind her when the games were on. We all knew not to call her during games and we all indulged her crush on Matt Ryan.


Christine, the oldest granddaughter, was always fast friends with MaMa. They had long chats about anything and everything, and especially enjoyed sharing books and talking about birds. They shared a strong dislike of Donald Trump. They both loved Coca Cola, baked potatoes, grits, and "As the World Turns," which MaMa faithfully taped so that they could watch it together in Christine's teenage years. They both had a vicious sweet tooth that unfortunately settled a little extra padding on their hips. They were each other's confidantes up until the end. Christine often finds herself saying things MaMa would say, like "my goodness" or "absolutely!" and smiling.

Chelsea and Michele, Lucy's twin granddaughters, were always known as "the girls" when they were younger, but have each become unique and interesting women, just like Lucy. After Lucy's husband passed away, she lived for many years with Karen, Chelsea, and Michele, so she was a constant and soothing presence in their lives. Chelsea inherited Lucy's humility, empathy, and nurturing abilities. Chelsea is a nurse, which MaMa was so proud of and was the first thing she'd tell to just about anyone she met. We all relied on Chelsea a lot as Lucy got older and had more medical issues. No one appreciated her tender care more than Lucy herself, who trusted Chelsea with anything. Chelsea and MaMa also shared a love of cheesy Hallmark and Lifetime movies and country music. Michele got Mama's quiet, steadfast, sweet and loving spirit. They both were a little picky about food and clothes, and had beautiful, fair, sensitive skin. Just like her MaMa, Michele has an air of grace and patience. When you can make either of them laugh or pay attention to you, you feel special. Both Chelsea and Michele inherited Mama's petite stature, silky soft hair, and graceful hands.

Besides her immediate family members, Lucy touched the lives of many others. Her sister-in-law, Sara Lynne, was always someone MaMa loved to keep in touch with despite their distance from each other. Lucy loved that Sara Lynne took such good care of her younger brother, Harry King Jr.

David, Lucy's son-in-law, was Lucy's Mr. Fix It. She always praised and admired him for his hard work, and relied on him for little things around the house. They shared a love of red wine and fish, and he was the only one who could cook fish correctly for her.

Michael, Christine's husband, was always welcome because of his good hugs and ability to make her laugh. Lucy was so happy in early 2020 when Christine and Michael's son was born, her first and only great-grandchild. Although she never got to meet Luke in person, she proudly displayed his pictures and told everyone about him. Everyone is anxious to see what qualities of hers he will have.

Jason, Chelsea's new husband, was a favorite for his kind personality, warm smile, and good heart that are a perfect match for Chelsea. Lucy was always excited to see him, and was beyond thrilled to be included via Zoom to see them get married last November. She kept the corsage they ordered just for her in her refrigerator, even though it turns out it was fake! She was so proud of them.

No doubt there are countless others who remember Lucy fondly. We give a heartfelt thanks to Lucy's "family" at the Oaks at Hampton in Dawsonville, where she spent the last few years of her life. The friends she met there revived her spirit in many ways. Whenever we called or visited, she always mentioned them and their stories, her love of the ice cream they served, and most notably her love of playing Bingo. She won her first teddy bear ever there, which she was very proud of. We are also grateful to Lucy's care team from Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, who helped us make her more comfortable in her final days.

How can we reduce your life to just these words? There is so much more of you in our hearts and memories. We love you Lucy, Mom, MaMa. You can rest now. We know you are with Don and Celia. We miss you so much.

We will have a private celebration of life for Lucy once it is safe to do so.