FERRIDAY &8212; Civic and judicial leader Lloyd Love, 84, died at his home Thursday.

Members of the community called him a &8220;true gentleman&8221; reflected on the honesty, generosity and kindness of the Monterey native and life-long Concordia Parish resident.

&8220;Lloyd did so much for underprivileged people,&8221; long-time friend Percy Roundtree said. &8220;So many would go to him when they were having legal problems. Often he didn&8217;t get paid for his work, but he didn&8217;t let that stop him.&8221;

Ann Siddall, one of Love&8217;s many prot/g/es in the legal community, said Love was instrumental in helping young lawyers break into the parish&8217;s legal community.

&8220;His office was the first place I practiced law,&8221; she said. &8220;He was a mentor but more importantly he was like a second father.&8221;

Love graduated from Monterey High School, where he and Roundtree, a Vidalia High School student, met on the athletic fields as boys.

They became friends during their undergraduate days at Louisiana State University, where Love majored in Forestry, was a member of the boxing team and served as a cadet captain of the ROTC.

After graduating, Love served as a bomber pilot in the U.S. Air Force, flying B-24s out of Sardinia.

Siddall remembers hearing Love talk about his time in the south of France as he prepared to rotate home.

&8220;He had an opportunity to fly dispatch missions, which would have taken him to London and Paris,&8221; she said. &8220;But it would have kept him in Europe an extra month. I told him he should have stayed but he said he wanted to be home for his mother&8217;s cooking at Christmas.&8221;

After his return, Love continued to serve in the armed forces and was stationed in Lake Charles, briefly.

&8220;He decided he was going to stay in the service,&8221; Love&8217;s daughter Julie Cole, one of four children, said.

&8220;He went to Baton Rouge for a football game. His friend asked if he would be interested in being set up on a blind date.&8221;

It&8217;s safe to say Love had more on his mind than the Tiger&8217;s performance on his drive back to Lake Charles.

&8220;He went to Lake Charles, told them he had changed his mind, moved to Baton Rouge and went to law school,&8221; Cole said.

Love and his date to that game, Ann Jackson, celebrated their 58th

wedding anniversary this past August.

LSU was a source of joy for Love throughout his life. He not only served as President of the Student Government Association while in law school but was president of the parish&8217;s alumni chapter &8212; winning a service award for his efforts in 1991 &8212; and an honorary coach of the school&8217;s legendary 1958 national championship football team.

Meanwhile, Love and his bride moved to Ferriday where he set up his legal practice and got involved in the community.

Seventh District Judge Leo Boothe remembers when he was a young lawyer how Love served his clients.

&8220;He was very talented and would represent people for nothing,&8221; Boothe said. &8220;He practiced for love of the profession and love of people.&8221;

Boothe said Love could have made himself rich in a larger district, but always put his love of the community before personal gain.

&8220;I&8217;m very sad about him,&8221; he said. &8220;This is a devastating loss for the community.&8221;

It is a community he served fully, Roundtree said, noting his Lou Gehrig-like attendance record at Rotary Club meetings.

&8220;He went 25 years without ever missing a meeting,&8221; he said.

Love was a past president of the Ferriday chapter and also served as the district&8217;s governor. Excepting Roundtree, Love was the longest serving member of the chapter.

Despite work, Rotary and helping raise four children and following LSU, Love played a key role in the effort to have a ring levee built around the parish and even found time to keep in touch with the local sports scene.

&8220;I moved to Ferriday in 1953, when I was a junior,&8221; Clerk of Court Clyde Ray Webber said. &8220;He was broadcasting the games at the time; he wrote the stories, too.&8221;

Webber said he got to know Love on a professional level when he took first was elected clerk 40 years ago.

&8220;He had a great capacity to see the best in people and overlook their shortcomings,&8221; he said. &8220;I really thought a lot of him.&8221;

Assistant District Attorney Ronnie McMillin remembers the Love house as a gathering place for the neighborhood youth and Love&8217;s law office as a great place to learn the trade.

&8220;When I came home from law school, he offered me his library,&8221; McMillin said. &8220;So I dragged a desk in there and went to it.&8221;

&8220;He was one of those real special people; he was ever so kind, he would be kind to other people to his detriment.&8221;

His kindness was recognized in 2004 by the Louisiana Bar Association with its Crystal Gavel Award, designed to recognize outstanding lawyers and judges who have been &8220;unsung heroes&8221; in their communities.

Funeral services will be conducted by Young&8217;s Funeral Home. Arrangements have not been finalized.