Elizabeth Ann (Marsteller) Lemmon

Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Lemmon left us Tuesday morning, May 12, 2020 at Norton Hospital Downtown in Louisville KY. Although she had been sick many times in the recent years, she had always managed to pull through before. Unfortunately, this time she couldn’t make it. Betty was born in Louisville, KY on January 24, 1947. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gus and Ann Marsteller; her infant daughter, Karen Michelle Lemmon; her husband, Robert Dant; her sister-in-law, Diane Marsteller; and, nephews Kevin Marsteller and Ryan Hubbard. Surviving Betty are her daughter, Debbie Lemmon (Jeff Grey), and her brothers Augie Marsteller SR. (Wanda), and Tom Marsteller (Ann). She is also survived by her grandchildren, Chelsea Grey (Dylan Sapp) of New Albany, Indiana, and Cody Lemmon-Grey, in Eugene, Oregon, and her newest favorite “little-man” and great-grandson, Barrett Jeffery Sapp. Other survivors include her step-son, Brian Dant; niece, Lisa Hardin(Tom); and nephews, J.R. Marsteller(Tina), John Marsteller(Johnna), Paul Marsteller; along with her first husband, Nelson Lemmon. Betty grew up in Pleasure Ridge Park and loved Elvis as a teenager. She also loved anything that had to do with water – boating, fishing, picnicking, and lying on the beach. She loved rescue dogs. Her little dog, Maggie, loved her too. But more than anything else, she loved being a parent and grandparent to Debbie and her children. When Debbie was just a child, her granddad would tease Betty that Debbie would never learn to walk – because Betty carried Debbie wherever she went – and she did this until Debbie’s feet would almost drag the ground! It wasn’t because Debbie needed to be carried; no, it was because Betty wanted to protect Debbie with every bit of her life. When Chelsea and Cody came along, Betty was again ecstatic. She loved her grandchildren as much as she did Debbie and looked forward to every moment she could spend with them for all of these years. And for the last two years, Barrett has been the joy in her life – she loved to FaceTime with him, blow him kisses through the screen, and when she could, tell him bed-time stories. Betty was born to be who she was – a great mother, grandmother, and great- grandmother. All who have known her in this capacity are blessed. Betty spent her work career as an inspector at Philip Morris. She retired from there and enjoyed keeping in touch with all of her friends with whom she worked for so many years. Earlier in her retirement she spent as many winter seasons as she could in Florida, playing in the sunshine and being with her friends there. She also loved her home here in Louisville. She especially loved her neighbors and friends. She’s had those friends for many, many years – Gerri Lee, Virginia, Mike, Mildred, Desiree and Brian have lost a good buddy. Everyone around there knew Betty, for she was the self-appointed welcoming committee, the social organizer, and the best friend one could be-all at the same time. Betty loved everyone. She never met a stranger, and rarely forgot one either. She reminded us that every day is a day that we can do something good for someone else. She had the kindest heart in the world – she loved children and made sure everyone would have a present at every occasion. She enjoyed buying for adults as well, but she was not pretentious. She would gladly give anyone else anything she had. She regularly cooked meals for her neighborhood friends to make sure they had something to eat that they liked. She enjoyed making cabbage rolls, baked beans, potato salad, and fried apple pies. She loved it when her daughter, Debbie, would ask her to cook these dishes for her church suppers. Surely everyone that knew her knows what an exceptional and giving person she was. Due to the COVID pandemic no services will be held at this time. For all those that knew her, you also knew her love for rescue dogs. And for this reason, she would have wanted any donations to her memory to be given to Humane Society. But even more than that, Betty was a “pay-it-forward” kind of person before we had those words for it. If you really want to do something in her name, do something nice for someone and then thank Betty for showing you the way. For that, we thank you.

Elizabeth Ann (Marsteller) Lemmon

January 24, 1947 - May 12, 2020