Rodney Marvin Love (July 18, 1908 – May 5, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a one-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for Ohio's District 3 from 1965 to 1967.

Early life and career

Rodney M. Love was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

where he graduated from Steele High School in 1926. He was graduated from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, class of 1930, and then attended the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

Law School where he was graduated in 1933. Love was admitted to the bar in 1933 and commenced practice in Dayton. In 1941, he became chief deputy in

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor ...

probate court, a position he held for four years. He was appointed

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of that probate court in 1945 to fill a vacancy, and was subsequently elected in 1946 to fill the partial term and reelected in 1948 and 1954. Love resigned from the bench in 1960 to return to his private law practice.

Congress

Rodney M. Love was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

89th United States Congress The 89th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1965, ...

(January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967), but was unsuccessful as a candidate for reelection in 1966 to the Ninetieth Congress.

Later career

In the 1960s, he spoke out against hatred and bigotry. He worked for mental health issues, serving as a Dayton chairman of the Ohio Mental Health Association's chapter and affiliation committee. Love was elected to Montgomery County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court in 1968 and reelected in 1974, serving until 1980. In retirement, he served by appointment of the Ohio Supreme Court as an active judge.

Death

Rodney M. Love suffered a stroke in Dayton in 1993 and died May 5, 1996 in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

Sources

* Denger, Laurie. "Judge Love Dies; He Was Called 'One Of A Kind'" Dayton Daily News, May 7, 1996, page 1B. {{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Rodney M. 1908 births 1996 deaths Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Dayton, Ohio University of Dayton alumni Ohio State University alumni Ohio state court judges 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio