William H "Bill" Love
Marriages
Bebe Sanders
Carolyn
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 4D Obituary - November 4, 2018
William H. Love May 28, 1921 - October 22, 2018
Bill Love was born in Powell, Wyoming, the son of Stoff John Love and Viola Roop Love. He was followed by his beloved sister, Martha (Bob) Monnahan, and brother, Donald (Phyllis) Love, both of whom predeceased him. They grew up in Billings and near Helena, Montana, where Stoff and Viola had a placer mining operation in Mitchell Gulch. He enrolled in the Butte Montana School of Mines in 1939 to study mining engineering. He left school to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, reaching the rank of First Lieutenant and meeting his first wife, Bebe Sanders, in Roswell, New Mexico. Following his discharge, he returned to Montana and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mining Engineering in 1946. The Montana School of Mines subsequently awarded him an Engineer of Mines Professional degree in 1960, followed by a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2011. He began working in North Idaho’s famous "Silver Valley" mining district with the Sink and Float Corporation in 1946 and, during that time, also contributed articles about the district to "Mining World" magazine. Those articles drew the attention of executives at Hecla Mining Company in Wallace, and in 1948 he was offered a position as a mechanical engineer. After stints at the Star mine in Burke and the Atlas mine in Mullan, Idaho, he supervised the development of the Radon mine in Moab, Utah. Returning to Wallace, he eventually rose to become Hecla’s President, COO, and then CEO in 1971. Along the way he helped develop the Lookout Pass ski area and its free ski school - the largest of its kind in the country. He served as a director on the boards of numerous mining companies and was a mentor to many young mining engineers. He enjoyed a welldeserved reputation for mining innovations and for always treating his employees fairly and with dignity. He was outspoken and honest, earning the respect and admiration of everyone from the new hire with a shovel, to the heads of international companies, state governors, and US Senators. He treated them all the same. Retiring in 1979, he had thoughts of becoming a mining consultant and began a seven-month adventure with his co-pilot and second wife, Carolyn. Replacing the back seats of their Cessna Skymaster airplane with the largest gas tanks available, they set off flying around the world. Navigating by dead reckoning (no GPS then) they passed over mountain ranges and vast expanses of ocean, visiting miners and their operations in some 24 countries along the way. (Their diaries of the trip, much to his delight, were memorialized in a book assembled by Bill and his daughter, Tamara, and distributed to and enjoyed by numerous family and friends.) The consultant life was short lived, however, because a few months after his return he accepted a position as Chairman and CEO of Occidental Oil Shale in Grand Junction, CO, retiring again in 1983. Retirement didn’tsuit Bill, so in 1985 he invested in Bookcliff Manufacturing, a custom cabinet operation in Grand Junction, and later developed CabParts, Inc, a wholesale manufacturing company which pioneered the production of components for cabinets, casework and closet systems, and which continues today selling and shipping products to customers in every state of the country and overseas. He finally "retired" from CabParts in 2016 at the age of 95. He loved Carolyn, their poodles, sunshine, Lake Powell, flying, skiing, hiking, and sharing time with family and friends on the deck of their home. He is survived by his son, Bob (Suzanne); daughter, Tamara (Steve) Verby, and son, Mike (Connie); grandchildren, Katie (Jesse) Villa and Kevin (Katie) Love, Jenna (Hugo) Munoz, Jillian (Jonathan) Klaucke and Kara Verby, John Love and Valerie Love, as well as great-grandchildren, Ellie and Jackson, Daniella, Greta and Andreas, all of whom, along with his many friends and everyone who knew him, will miss him very much. A memorial service will be held in the warmth of spring on May 18, 2019, at Callahan-Edfast. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the William Love Engineering Endowment or the Carolyn Love Scholarship Fund, both through the Colorado Mesa University Foundation, 1100 North Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501-3122.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Death Notice - October 28, 2018
William Henry Love, 97, Grand Junction, died Oct. 22, 2018. Services are planned in the spring. He was a mining engineer and business owner. Survivors include his two sons, Bob of Grand Junction and Michael of Silverton, Idaho; one daughter, Tamara Verby of Sandpoint, Idaho; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions to the Carolyn D. Love Scholarship Fund or the William H. Love Engineering Endowment, in care of Colorado Mesa University Foundation, 1100 North Ave., Grand Junction 81501.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel3 page 3D Obituary - May 12, 2019
Bill Love May 28, 1921 - October 22, 2018
Spring and the warm weather have arrived, making it the perfect time to remember Bill Love. Please join us at 11:00 a.m. at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary, 2515 Patterson Road in Grand Junction, next Saturday, May 18, to celebrate his life with family and friends. The events will be comfortable and informal - Bill happily had not worn a tie in years, and we won’t either!
