When traveling down the interstate, seeing a Love’s Truck Stop isn’t an uncommon sight. With over six hundred stores in 42 states, and numerous rewards under its belt, including Corporation of the year in 1991 and the President’s Award for Service to God and Country in 1996, it’s not hard to see that it is a very successful business. The company owes its success to its founder, Tom Love who passed away on March 7, 2023, at the age of 85.
In the mid-1960s, Tom and his wife Judy leased an abandoned service station to open their first gas station which later developed into a chain of gas stations located near Oklahoma City. In an attempt to diversify his products and revenue, he got the idea to attach convenience stores to his existing gas stations. As a result, his gas stations became the first to offer grocery items and self-service gasoline in the 1970s. The first Love’s travel stop was opened in Texas in 1981, catering to both truckers and motorists alike.
Today Love’s offers a wide array of services including roadside assistance for commercial trucks, emergency roadside vehicles, truck maintenance, parking, hot and fresh food items, shower facilities, restaurants, and even hotels at some locations. It is the largest business in its industry and is still family-owned. Tom’s love of sports also managed to get Love’s as one of the partners of his hometown’s NBA team the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Tom Love’s legacy will continue to live on in his widely popular business that continues to offer a number of convenient services for truckers and motorists alike. He contributed a lot to the trucking industry by providing truckers with places to park, take showers, purchase food, and even repair their trucks if needed. Love’s Truck Stop even goes as far as giving away millions of My Loves Rewards points during Trucker Appreciation Week for truckers to use at any Love’s location. They also hold Christmas giveaways for a number of useful items. During Christmas, they have donated to the St. Christopher Truckers Fund, a charity that helps truckers and their families when illness or injury causes them to be out of work. Even after Tom Love has passed, Love’s continues to make a positive contribution to the trucking industry helping truckers around the country.