Co-founder of family-owned truck stop giant Love’s dead at 87

On Tuesday, company officials announced that the co-founder of one of the nation’s largest truck stop chains passed away.

On November 5, 2024, Love’s Travel Stops co-founder Judy Love died at age 87 in Oklahoma City.

Judy Love’s husband Tom Love, founder of Love’s Travel Stops, passed away in March 2023 at the age of 85.

Judy Love with born in 1937 in Chicago. She married Tom Love on December 26, 1960, and the couple leased an abandoned service station in Watonga in 1964. The company grew to 40 stores over the next 8 years. In those early days, Judy Love managed the company’s accounts and she remained the company’s secretary and treasurer as it grew to open locations in dozens of states.

Over the decades to come, Love’s Travel Stops grew to operate 651 locations in 42 states.

“Judy Love was an extraordinary woman with a huge heart for others and an inexhaustible joy of life,” said Close friend and former broadcaster, author, and public official Jane Jayroe-Gamble  “Her passion for family, friends, community, and the Catholic Church inspired many. Judy and Tom were a partnership made in Heaven, and their successful business reflects their hard work, dedication, and generosity. As we mourn her loss, let’s celebrate her remarkable life, positive spirit, gifts of encouragement, and significant impact on our world.”