Judy Love, co-founder of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, died at the age of 87 in Oklahoma City on Nov. 5, 2024.
Alongside her late husband, Tom Love, Judy was instrumental in building their family-owned business, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, which they founded in 1964 with a $5,000 loan. Her financial acumen and dedication to the company’s growth saw her serve as secretary and treasurer as it expanded into 42 states. Her warm spirit, generosity and commitment to community service earned her widespread admiration, the company said.
Judy’s legacy of philanthropy will endure through her children, Greg, Laura, Jenny and Frank, as well as her nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
“Our mother, Judy Love, was the heart and soul of our family,” the Love family announced. “She cared deeply for us and those who worked alongside her and Dad. Her tenacity, strength, and focus will guide us forever. She taught us the importance of hard work, honesty, and the joy of giving back. While we will miss her dearly, her spirit will live on through the countless lives she touched.”
Born in 1937 in Chicago, Love was the daughter of Ed and Ruth McCarthy. Her family relocated to Oklahoma City in 1942, where her father worked as a district manager in outdoor advertising. She graduated from Bishop McGuiness High School and Central Catholic High School.
While attending Oklahoma State University in 1956, she met Tom Love, and they married on Dec. 26, 1960.
Together, they leased an abandoned service station in Watonga, Oklahoma, in 1964, which grew to 40 stores in eight years. From these beginnings, they started the Love’s Family of Companies. Skilled in finance, Judy managed the company’s accounts and worked from their home.
After stepping back from part-time work at Love’s in 1975, she pursued her longtime interest in interior design. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Central Oklahoma in 1981, followed by a master’s and later established her design firm.
Her passion for philanthropy led to the establishment of the Love Family Affiliated Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 1999 and the Tom and Judy Love Foundation in 2013.
In 2020, Love was honored as Oklahoma Mother of the Year by American Mothers and received the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Oklahoma City chapter of the National Fundraising Professionals in 1999.
She served on many non-profit boards in Oklahoma City and also co-chaired the capital campaign for Positive Tomorrows, Oklahoma’s only school for children experiencing homelessness.
Love was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2010. Among her many honors, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Distinguished Woman Award from Oklahoma City University. The Girl Scouts named her a Woman of Distinction, and the Notre Dame Club named her the Woman of the Year for Oklahoma.
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is No. 16 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Love’s operates 650 travel centers and convenience stores in 42 states.
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