She graduated from Huston–Tillotson University in about 1912 and married her college sweetheart, Ulysses Samuel Smith,[2] who eventually became known as the "Barbecue King of the Southwest."

[3] Ten years later, she received a similar position at Prairie View A&M, and in 1952 established one of the first college commercial food & technology programs.

[3] In 1965, Smith baked more than 300 fruit cakes in one week to send to every enlisted person serving in the Vietnam War from Tarrant County.

Following a service at St. Andrew's Methodist Church, where she had been a member for over seventy years, she was buried in the Smith family plot in the New Trinity Cemetery in Haltom City, Texas.

[10][2] In 1941, Smith published a cookbook Lucille’s Treasure Chest of Fine Foods, which was reprinted many times, and the 1960s version was printed on 400 index cards and sold in a recipe box.

[11] In 2012, the restaurant Lucille’s opened in Houston, founded by Smith's great-grandchildren, Chris and Ben Williams, grandchildren of her daughter Gladys Hogan as a dedication to her.

[12] The Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture created an exhibition called “Biscuits and Business: The Legacy of Lucille Smith and Southern Black Chefs” in her memory in 2019.