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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly May '95
Stanley Jerome Love No.16054 Class of 1946
Died 3 April 1994 in New York, New York, aged 68 years. Interment:
West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York.
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Stanley was born 1 March 1926 in Manhattan, the
son of Joseph Love, founder of Love dresses, a children's wear
manufacturer. His high school years were spent at the Horace
Mann School. There his talents and proclivity for history and
the arts emerged. He attended the Citadel in Charleston, South
Carolina before gaining his coveted appointment to West Point,
joining the Class of 1946 on the banks of the Hudson 1 July 1943.
At Stanley's funeral, his roommate, Dan Mahony,
told how they met and what made Stanley such a great friend and
classmate: "I first met Stanley 50 very short years ago
when we were assigned to a two man foxhole during one cold, wet
night at Pine Camp maneuvers. As the rain increased and the temperature
decreased, somehow the overall ambiance became ever more agreeable.
The reason, now obvious to us all, was Stanley's ever optimistic,
ever engaging and ever pleasant outlook and disposition. During
our times as roommates, this same disposition and outlook seldom,
if ever, deserted Stanley. Always, the days were made easier,
the tasks were more adventurous and the time passed more quickly
in his presence."
The heavily weighted science and math curriculum
was hardly suited to Stanley's penchant for the arts and history,
but his hard work and perseverance paid off. He graduated a second
lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps. After basic schooling,
Stanley was assigned to the 138th AAA Group, Eighth Army, Yokohama,
Japan on occupation duty. For over two years, Stanley combined
two ambitions: serving on active duty and collecting Oriental
art. His knowledge of art served him well in this endeavor, and
he started what was to become a world renowned collection.
Stanley left the Army in 1949 to join the firm
founded by his father. He became president of the firm in 1962
and proceeded to demonstrate his business acumen. Stanley concentrated
on manufacturing polyester knit fashions when he realized they
were best suited for children's wear. He also developed and patented
the "Ribbon Dress," which sold over one million units
in the early 1980s. Stanley was one of the first to manufacture
children's fashion merchandise in mainland China, South Korea
and Japan.
Stanley married Diane Stewart on 25 November 1959.
They had a daughter, Victoria, and a son, William. Stanley and
Diane were divorced in 1971. Stanley continued his collection
of Oriental art and study of Oriental history after he left the
Army. He established a permanent award for excellence in Asian
History, administered by the West Point History Department. He
was a founder of the Japan Society Gallery and made numerous
gifts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum,
The Sackler Museum in Washington, D.C., Wesleyan University and
the West Point Museum and Library.
In 1990, Stanley sponsored a major retrospective
of children's wear at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan
Museum which has a permanent collection of Love fashions since
1921. When the decision was made to build the Jewish Chapel at
West Point, Stanley was instrumental in pushing the project to
completion.
Stanley learned in 1986 that he had a fatal form
of bone cancer. Even knowing in great detail the seriousness
of his illness and the hopeless prognosis, never did Stanley
fear for the future, speak with despondency nor stop planning
for tomorrow. Stanley died on 3 April 1994. He is survived by
his children ;sister Jane; two brothers, Robert and Matthew;
and a grandson named in his honor.
When asked to describe Stanley Love, his friends
and family invariably repeated the same theme: He was full of
life, optimistic, kind and loving. His good sense and his flair
for friendships were unique. He loved life and people. He was
generous with his attentions and made others feel special.
In his eulogy, Stanley's best friend, Dr. Robert
Gittler, remarked: "I will finish saying goodbye to my beloved
friend with the most tender remembrance composed by the greatest
of all English authors."
Now cracks a noble heart.
Good night, sweet prince,
and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Dan Mahony closed his remarks with: "His passing
is the end of an era for all those who knew him well."
His son William said, "We bury many men with
my father: the scholar, the art collector, the business man,
the diplomat and, most importantly to my sister and me, the loving
father."
His daughter Victoria wrote these comments in the
funeral service bulletin: "He made the most of every moment,
appreciated every person, valued and treasured the art and culture
of the Far East. A West Pointer who never forgot the tradition
of the Long Gray Line and, most of all, a loving and beloved
father, we will hold your love and spirit in our hearts forever."
The day Stanley was buried at West Point Cemetery
the weather was beautiful. The West Point Band played "Army
Blue" and the "Alma Mater." With the firing party,
color guard and the bugler sounding taps, only one thing is needed
to complete the life of a proud West Pointer. To hear his classmates
proclaim, "Well Done, Stanley; Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his children, Victoria and
Bill
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