I’ll never forget the year I spent at Saint John’s. ~ Tom Love ’59
Saint John’s University notes with sadness the passing of alumnus Tom Love ’59, founder, owner and executive chairman of Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores.
In 1964, Tom and his wife Judy took $5,000 from savings and leased an abandoned gas station in Watonga, Oklahoma. Within a few years, the company had 40 stations and began to open convenience stores alongside the pumps. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, the family-owned company is worth $9.7 billion and operates 600 travel stops in 42 states with more than 39,000 employees.
In a company statement, the President of Love’s stated: “In many respects, he was an ordinary person who built an extraordinary business alongside his wife Judy and his family, whom he loved deeply.”
If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Tom Love attended Saint John’s for one year (1955-56) and played football for legendary Hall of Fame head coach John Gagliardi, who was known for instilling in his players a simple lesson for football and life:
“Ordinary men doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways.”
“Clearly, Tom Love is one of the most successful and inspiring business leaders in Saint John’s history,” said Rob Culligan ‘82, SJU’s VP for Advancement. “He’s also a fantastic guy. Oddly, few people are aware that he was a Johnnie because he only attended Saint John’s for one year.”
“My dad really enjoyed his friendship with Tom Love,” added Jim Gagliardi ‘89. “He loved the way Tom did things differently, and that he saw needs and solutions that others either missed or were simply unwilling to tackle the risk.”
“Their friendship started as a struggling student and a mentoring coach,” he continued. “It transitioned into a mutual admiration of two successful people really enjoying each other when they were together.”
When John Gagliardi retired from coaching, he invited Tom to return to alma mater to speak to students in his class, Leadership Lessons. During his presentation, Tom recounted the story of how he came to Saint John’s:
I played football at St. Gregory’s Prep School in Shawnee, Oklahoma. My coaches were Fr. Michael and Fr. David, and both of them had gone to seminary at Saint John’s. They asked me if they could write to Coach Gagliardi to see if I would be welcome to come up to Saint John’s to try out for the football team, and I said “sure.’ So, a good friend and teammate of mine, Phil Nicholson, and I were invited to come and we did. It was a terrific year.
There was something about Coach Gagliardi that left an indelible imprint on me, and we hit it off, and I even got to play a little bit for him.
I’ll never forget the year I spent at Saint John’s. Coach Gagliardi was quite a guy.
“Tom greatly appreciated the Benedictine education that he received at St. Gregory’s and Saint John’s,” noted Abbot John Klassen. “He described it as a character-building experience. Needless to say, we are deeply proud of his personal and professional accomplishments.”
Tom returned to campus again in November 2016 with his wife Judy for a football game and the dedication of Gagliardi Field. Tom and Judy made a generous gift in support of this athletic project on one condition: that it be named after John.
“I remember going to the Gagliardi’s home to deliver the good news,” Culligan recalled. “I was a bit nervous, to say the least, because John had previously indicated that he didn’t want anything named after him. When I sat down with John and Peggy and explained that the Love family had made a gift to the project and that they wanted to name the field after him, John began to look uneasy. Before he had a chance to say no, I said: ‘Tom and Judy thought you might object, John, so they asked me to inform you that they aren’t naming Gagliardi Field after you, they are naming it after Peggy.’ We all laughed, and Peggy was thrilled, and son Jim chimed in that it was a wonderful way to honor the family. John was charmed and swayed by his dear friend and his family, and that’s how it became known as Gagliardi Field.”
Following the dedication of Gagliardi Field, Tom sent John the following message:
“Coach, what a great day… not just the dedication but meeting your kids again, especially your daughter Gina who Judy says is a jewel and I agree and seeing Peggy again (after all she has Gagliardi Field named for her). Just a fantastic day.”
“Gagliardi Field blew me away… far more than I expected. And your son Jim (then SJU’s offensive coordinator) capped it off by following in your footsteps by not only winning the game big but by playing 70 plus guys who've been working their butts off. He’s a chip off the old block – and what a block. Your kids are lucky… you and Peggy have a lot to be proud of.”
When John Gagliardi passed away two years later (October 2018) Tom sent his condolences:
“Coach was a unique guy that only comes along rarely. Like all in Johnnie Nation, we’re gonna miss him big time!”