J. Frank Love Jr., of Shelby, NC, was born April 26, 1921, in Lincolnton, N.C., to J. Frank Love Sr. and Margaret Dover Love. Frank grew up in Lincolnton, Saxapahaw and Shelby, and attended schools in Graham and Burlington, N.C. He was a descendant of several pioneer textile industry families as the fifth generation. He was graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., in 1942, lettering four years on the tennis team, and was commissioned as an officer in the USAAF. In 1943 he married Georgia Mack (Mackie) Keeter. Upon discharge in 1946 from the USAAF as a major, Mackie and Frank made their home in Shelby where they were blessed with two children: James F. Love III (Jim) and, 19 months later, a daughter, Margaret M. Love (Mimi). After Mackie passed away in 1982, he married his Shelby High School sweetheart, Virginia McMurry Jones, in 1987. Virginia passed away in 2008. In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his sister, Kathryn E. Love. He is survived by Jim Love and his wife Donna, and by Mimi L. Guin; grandchildren Elizabeth G. Beam, her husband Steven of Raleigh, N.C., James P. Guin III (Tripp) and his wife Caroline of Charlotte, N.C.; Margaret Grace Love of Somerville, Ma.; and James Franklin Love IV and his wife Lindsey of Brooklyn, N. Y.; great-grandchildren Eric Beam, Georgia Beam, Grace Guin, Madelyn Guin, and Ava Guin. He gained his “bonus children” who survive him: Jean Anne Barnes and her husband Peter, Linda J. Kopel and her husband Jay and Thomas Jones and his wife Susan. After four years in WWII, Frank started his textile career at Dover Mills in Shelby, N.C. where he had worked before the war since 1938. He became personnel director for the four Dover Mills in 1949. He then operated a yarn mill in Boiling Springs, N.C., from 1950 until 1953 when he joined American & Efird Mills, Inc. (A&E), Mt. Holly, N.C. In 1967 he became executive vice president of manufacturing for A&E Thread Division. Then in 1973 he was promoted to president of American & Efird Mills. He retired in 1984 after eleven years as president. He was involved in the local community and church activities. He was active in Rotary Club and at the First Presbyterian Church, Mt. Holly. He served on the board of trustees of Gaston Memorial Hospital. He was a board member of the N.C. Tennis Association. He had leadership positions in several industrial organizations. He was presented the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 by Mayor Stan Anthony, Shelby, N.C. He formed his first orchestra in Shelby, N.C. in 1938. He was band commander at the Citadel 1941-1942 and played with 8th Air Force Gremlins in England. He then formed his own orchestra in 1946 playing until 1953. Later he formed an orchestra in 1991 after retirement that plays in N.C., S.C. and Virginia to date. He received the Heritage-Bridge Award in 2008 from the Cleveland County Arts Council. As a N.C. ranked senior division tennis player in the 1970s and 1980s, he also attained a national and southern section and N. C. rankings in singles and doubles. He was invited to play many times in the Osuna Cup in Mexico and the Gordon Cup in Canada. In 2013 he was inducted into the N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame after being inducted into the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame and the Cleveland County Sports Hall of Fame. The family would like to acknowledge the great assistance given by long time caregivers: Della Ledford, Tammy Burnett and Rochelle Cannedy, as well as the many caregivers at Helping Hands of Shelby and the Sisk family of Gastonia, then most recently by Kings Mountain Hospice House. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m., Sunday, March 1, 2015, Sunday, at Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home and Crematory, and following the service. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, March 2, 2015, at Cleveland Memorial Park. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2015, at Shelby Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Luke Harkey, Rev. Wilson Rhoton, and Rev. Bryan Hovey officiating. Memorials can be made to The Citadel c/o Frank Love Scholarship Fund 171 Moultrie St. Charleston, SC 29409; North Carolina Tennis Foundation, 2709 Henry St., Greensboro, NC 27405; Hospice of Cleveland County, 951 Wendover Height Dr., Shelby, NC 28152; Cleveland County Arts Council, 111 S. Washington St., Shelby, NC 28150 or donor’s choice. Arrangements by Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences may be made at www.cecilmburtonfuneralhome.com.
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