In the last few weeks, staff at the Methodist Hospice Residence told Elizabeth Lemmonds’ daughters several times they could limit the number of visitors, saying gently that just because guests are allowed in 24-7, restrictions are understandable.

It didn’t happen because Lemmonds, an empathetic extrovert, had so many deep connections in Memphis that cutting the life-giving flow to their dying mother would not have been her wish.

“She was just doing so much more in her life than I even realized,” said daughter Ripley Neff, 29. “I think it was just a mix of her wanting to be involved in things and being very adventurous. But also, she was just very warm.”

Lemmonds, 52, died Wednesday, June 19, of brain cancer. Her battle became a public sadness when it was reported that she had no health insurance, one of countless hundreds of Memphians who work without benefits. 

Since October, Lemmonds had been executive director of Arrow Creative, an arts collective/maker’s space and marketplace on Philadelphia Street in Midtown.

In 2022, she took time off after her parents died, months apart.

“So, that year, it kind of made sense she didn’t have health insurance,” said Neff, who hears often that nonprofits can’t afford to provide insurance.

“I know you’re hoping to help the community. Well, help your employees, too.”

Three decades ago, Lemmonds came to Memphis as a freshman at then-Memphis State University from south-central Tennessee.

She may have intended to leave when her children were older, but didn’t, friends say, because by then, she was indispensable to the city’s creative class, first as a convener and then as someone who was part of the structure that supported them.