Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds is dead at 46

Lucy Vodden was a nursery school classmate of John Lennon's son Julian, then 4, in Weybridge, Surrey in 1966; at the time her name was Lucy O'Donnell.

Julian came home from school one day with a drawing (top), showed it to his father, and said it was "Lucy in sky with diamonds."

You know the rest.

Ms. Vodden died last Tuesday, September 22, 2009 after a long illness.

Her death was reported yesterday by St. Thomas's Hospital in London.

Here's Liz Thomas's obituary from today's Daily Mail.

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Woman who inspired Beatles' Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds dies aged 46 after battling disease

The woman whose childhood friendship with John Lennon’s son Julian inspired the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds has died.

Lucy Vodden, who was recently revealed as the girl behind the 40-year-old Beatles song, had been battling lupus, an incurable disease of the immune system.

Julian Lennon has said that the track was inspired by a picture he drew of classmate Lucy O’Donnell [below]

with star-like shapes when they were at nursery school in the mid-1960s.

The young Julian showed his father the picture and told him it was ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’.

Lennon used the phrase as a title for a song he wrote for the album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in 1967.

Last night Julian and his mother Cynthia said they were ‘shocked and saddened’ by 46-year-old Mrs Vodden’s death.

The musician, who lives in France, got back in touch with her six months ago after discovering through mutual friends that she was chronically ill.

He sent a bouquet with a personally written card and then gave her garden centre vouchers because he had learnt that she took solace in her plants.

‘I’ve been able to help out a bit,’ he said at the time.

‘I was so upset to hear what had happened.’

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds initially caused controversy and was banned by the BBC because of its supposed reference to the drug LSD.

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Below,

Lucy Vodden.