Love's Travel Stops Co-Founder Judy Love Dies
Love’s Travel Stops co-founder Judy Love has died on November 5. She was 87.
Along with her husband Tom Love, Judy was instrumental in building their family-owned business, which was 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 the convenience store chain expanded into 42 states. She is survived by 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," said the Love Family. "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. Judy 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 the day after Christmas in 1960. When founding the company, the Loves leased an abandoned service station in Watonga in 1964, which grew to 40 stores in eight years.
Seventeen years after starting Love’s Travel Stops, 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, Judy 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. In 2010, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
