Lucille Derrick of Bellevue, Kentucky graduated from Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College in 1931. As a student she was a member of Sigma Lambda, YMCA, and the Eastern Progress Staff. Following graduation she served as secretary to Dr. W.C.. Jones, Director of Research at Eastern before going on to earn her Master of Arts degree in 1934 at George Peabody College for Teachers.

For the next few years she taught mathematics at Eastern. In 1946 she earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Chicago. She retired in 1973 as a professor off statistics from the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. She was among the 101 Eastern graduates who received a Centennial Alumni Award in 1974. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.