A native of Apalachicola, she was born Minnie Lucile Wynn on February 14, 1918 to George and Maude Wynn. George instilled a strong sense of work ethic and determination in his daughter and four sons. Williams often quoted her father as saying “do your best and then some,” a philosophy she would use throughout her life. In 1933, she moved to Tallahassee, graduating from the original Lincoln High School in 1935, and from Florida A&M University with a degree in mathematics in 1940. She earned her M.Ed. in administration and supervision in 1953 from the same institution, and the Ed.S. Degree from Florida State University.

Williams spent three decades as a teacher, educating hundreds of students in Franklin, Madison, Wakulla, and Gulf counties before settling at Bond Elementary School. Hired by E. Lilyan Spencer and Walton S. Seabrooks as an instructor, and later assistant to the principal, Williams championed the creation of a highly active Parent Teacher Association, recruited faculty, visited the homes of students, encouraged school plays, student organizational troops, and insisted upon Bond becoming a community institution. She continued in this role until moving to the school system’s district office in the 1970s as Area Curriculum Coordinator, and Director of Summer Head Start.

At Seabrooks’ retirement in 1973, Williams became Bond’s principal. Having a big heart, and little patience for stagnation, she actively sought out ways to provide much needed services to the underserved area in which the school was located. With this, Williams immediately went to work, lobbying the city commission and anyone who would listen for a multipurpose center that would provide much needed medical care, meeting space and social services for senior citizens. Her efforts resulted in the construction of the Smith-Williams Service Center, which opened in 1981, just three months following of the conclusion of her tenure as Bond’s principal. She retired from the school district in 1984 as coordinator of elementary education.

Williams continued to keep busy, as she was an integral part in the effort to open what is now the Dr. B.L. Perry, Jr. Branch Library, and Bond Community Health Center. Additionally, she provided meritorious service as a member of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in her work to assist in establishing the Bethel Christian Academy and the Steele-Collins Charter School. She served on an incalculable number of government boards and committees, and was a member of several community organizations, all with the needs of the community, and a bright future for her students in mind.

In addition to the Smith-Williams Center, she received numerous awards for her devotion to children’s causes, including the FAMU Education Gallery of Distinction, TCC African-American History Calendar, and the creation of the Lucile Williams Cornerstone Award, and the Lucile Williams Mini-Grant for Students.