Lucy Dinces (née Stanisława Lucyna Grabowski) was born June 28, 1950, in Szczuczyn, in northeastern Poland, to William and Irena Grabowski. She grew up in the nearby village of Gutki until 1962, when she immigrated with her family to the United States, eventually settling in Michigan. She graduated from Detroit’s Saint Casimir High School in 1968.

Lucy married Jerry Dinces on July 31, 1981, and relocated with him to Southern California, where she would spend the rest of her life. She gave birth to her first and only child, Sean, the following year, and worked as a dedicated homemaker at the family’s home in Corona thereafter.

Lucy was an avid tennis player, known on Corona’s courts for her sense of humor, and for confounding opponents with her trademark backspin. She also cultivated a passion for gardening, and could often be found planting, pruning, and watering in her backyard. After the sun set, she enjoyed watching true crime shows (or “who-done-its” in her parlance). She also made time for volunteer work, especially with the American Cancer Society.

One of Lucy’s enduring legacies will be her tenacity and resilience in the face of physical adversity. Not only did she survive a bout with breast cancer in the late 1990s; she also defied the odds—not to mention the prognoses of many experts—after being diagnosed with stage IV gastric cancer in early 2022. Told that she had only a few months to live, Lucy had highly invasive HIPEC surgery at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. The surgery helped her stay on the tennis court for another four years and also contributed to research on gastric cancer that will benefit others in the future. Typically, Lucy left a strong impression on the team that cared for her at NIH. Her surgeon, Dr. Jeremy Davis, notes that it was a “pleasure and honor to help care for Lucy. She was such a delightful, warm, and kind person.”

On July 11, 2026, Lucy finally succumbed to gastric cancer, passing peacefully in her own bed in Corona. She is survived by her husband Jerry, son Sean, sisters Barbara (Marion) Kitlinski and Yola (John) Montoni, brother Richard (Cindy), and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father William, mother Irena, and brothers Teddy (Pat) and Andy (Kristi).

For those interested in honoring Lucy’s legacy, her family suggests making a donation to Serving Advantage, a youth-led non-profit organization in Orange County that introduces kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities to tennis.