Richard Love, 1944 - 2006

The Eastern Region lost a good friend and fellow waterskier on December 29, when Richard Love passed on from a long bout with lung cancer. Richard, a non-smoker, was born Nov 11, 1944. He went to St Mary’s College, enlisted in the Navy in 1965 and was assigned to Pax River NAS until 1969. He attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and continued working at Pax River as a Safety Officer until retirement in 2004.

Richard married Eve Himmelheber of St Mary’s City in 1975 and they had one daughter. Richard is survived by Eve and their daughter Stephanie, oldest daughter Kerry Love of Lusby, Md, and a sister Sandra Plopper of Kennesaw, Ga.

Richard’s parents competed in 3 event water-skiing in the 50’s & 60’s in the Midwest region. Richard eventually found his way back to the water in the 70s, skiing on the river with friends Joe Joseph and Billy Sapp and others & occasionally entered local tournaments. Breton Bay was their primary site near Leonardtown, where they called themselves the Breton Bay Bombers. Richard was asked to be a founding member of Garland’s Millpond Ski club (ultimately coining our nickname - the “Millpounders”) from 1983 – 1989. After Garland’s closed, Richard skied at Timberlake from its beginning in 1989 till the mid 90’s when he retired from competitive skiing. He was an assistant driver and a Technical Controller, working local Record tournaments and Regional Championships. Richard also enjoyed tennis, model railroading, and more recently - remodeling older homes with his wife Eve.

Along the way, Richard managed to be a father, a husband, round lots of buoys, do a ton of work for waterskiing and the lakes where he was a member, and so greatly enrich & especially enliven the lives of those who had the good fortune to be around him and his family. If you know a long time skier from Maryland or Virginia, sometime ask them about Richard or to tell you a Richard Love tale. There are so many good ones. He was that kind of guy. And I will miss him.

Contributions can be made in memory of Richard love to the following:

Hospice of Saint Mary’s, Inc.
Box 625
Leonardtown, MD. 20650

Submitted by:

Roger Hammel