Representative Rodney Marvin Love

Rodney Marvin Love (July 18, 1908 – May 5, 1996) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician who served as a one-term U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District from 1965 to 1967. Over the course of a long public career, he held a series of judicial and legislative offices in Montgomery County and at the federal level, and was noted particularly for his advocacy on mental health issues and his public opposition to hatred and bigotry during the 1960s.

Love was born in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, on July 18, 1908. He was educated in the Dayton public schools and graduated from Steele High School in Dayton in 1926. He then attended Ohio State University in Columbus, from which he was graduated in the class of 1930. Pursuing a legal career, he returned to his home region to study law at the University of Dayton Law School, where he was graduated in 1933.

In 1933, Love was admitted to the bar and commenced the private practice of law in Dayton. His early legal work led to responsibilities in the local court system, and in 1941 he became chief deputy in the Montgomery County, Ohio, probate court. He held that administrative and legal position for four years, gaining experience in probate and family matters. In 1945, he was appointed judge of the Montgomery County probate court to fill a vacancy. He subsequently secured the post in his own right, being elected in 1946 to complete the unexpired term and then reelected in 1948 and again in 1954. Love resigned from the probate bench in 1960 in order to return to private law practice, marking a temporary shift away from judicial service as he prepared for broader political involvement.

A member of the Democratic Party, Love was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964 as part of the 89th United States Congress. He represented Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1967. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the height of the Great Society legislative agenda and major debates over civil rights and social policy. During his single term in office, he contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic deliberations of the House of Representatives, and represented the interests of his Dayton-area constituents. He ran for reelection in 1966 but was unsuccessful as a candidate for the Ninetieth Congress, concluding his federal legislative service after one term.

Following his departure from Congress, Love remained active in public affairs and returned to the judiciary. In the 1960s, he spoke out publicly against hatred and bigotry, reflecting the broader national struggle over civil rights and social equality. He also became known for his work on mental health issues, serving as Dayton chairman of the Ohio Mental Health Association’s chapter and affiliation committee, where he helped promote improved services and public understanding of mental illness. In 1968, he was elected judge of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, a court of general jurisdiction, and was reelected to that position in 1974. He served on the Common Pleas Court bench until 1980, presiding over a wide range of civil and criminal matters.

After leaving regular judicial service in 1980, Love entered retirement but continued to serve the Ohio judiciary. By appointment of the Ohio Supreme Court, he acted as an active judge on an as-needed basis, assisting with caseloads in various courts and drawing on his decades of legal and judicial experience. In his later years he divided his time between Ohio and the Southwest. Rodney Marvin Love suffered a stroke in Dayton in 1993. He died on May 5, 1996, in Mesa, Arizona, closing a long career in law and public service that had spanned more than half a century.