In April 1998 L.I.F.E. affiliated with Pierce College's Continuing Education Department. Pierce College invited citizens of the district to join in a planning process for a Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI).Twelve individual met in November 2000 to begin planning for a program to begin in the fall of 2001.
Members of the Edmonds College LLI provided valuable assistance and in May 2001 the first public meeting was held at Pierce College. Fifty-five people from the community attended the meeting and thirty paid dues to provide the initial financial support for the project. Members were surveyed regarding courses and activities and the Program Committee decided on classes based on the input from the surveys.
The first classes was held in October 2001 and in October 2002 twenty members attended a two-day program in Astoria, OR on Lewis and Clark. This was L.I.F.E.'s first bus tour and since then the group has taken overnight tours to Walla Walla, WA. and the Oregon Shakespearean Festival.
In January 2005 L.I.F.E. moved its affiliation from Pierce College to Pacific Lutheran University under the Center for Public Service. PLU has been very supportive of the institute by permitting the use of their printing and mailing services along with overseeing the bookkeeping.
In early 2007 a web-site was launched in connection with the PLU web-site. L.I.F.E.'s mailing list is around 250 with approximately 100 members being active through dues and regular class attendance.