Ronald Love

Ronald Wayne Love, a constant figure in Florida horticulture and a devoted husband and father, passed away at home on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at the age of 69. Ron is survived by his wife, Delia, and his four children, Chris (Karen), Brian (LuAnn), Sarah (Jack), and Harrison (Kiri), as well as his grandchildren, Isabella, Jack, Addison, Gavin, Holton, and Ridge. Ron was predeceased by his parents, George and Louise Love. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Knauff Funeral Home in Williston, officiated by Judge Joe Smith. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Ron's name to the UF Endowment FNGLA Research Larry Slaymaker Fund, www.uff.ufl.edu/appeals/slaymakermemorial. You may also donate to Save Our Rural Areas, saveourruralarea.org. Ron was a trailblazer in the nursery business, starting at age ten, building his own greenhouse. By middle school, he grew annuals in coffee cans and sold them out of his backyard. Ron was a licensed nurseryman by age sixteen. While attending Evans High School, he joined the school's agricultural program and, through his efforts, secured funding for both equipment and a greenhouse for the program. At seventeen, concerned about the budget for vocational and technical programs in Florida high schools, Ron spoke before his school board, then testified before two senate subcommittees on the importance of funding for vocational programs. Featured in 1971 as a "Terrific Teenager" in the Orlando Evening Star for his accomplishments, the state agricultural commissioner said Ron had "done more for vocational agriculture in the state than had been done in 50 years". In 1974, Ron discovered a fossilized leg bone of a rhinoceros on his okra farm. He brought it to the University of Florida paleontologists for identification. A Time magazine article from 1981 notes, "The Love homestead has become a landmark in North American paleontology. Among the finds: saber-toothed tigers, four-tusked mastodons, a giant camel some 18 ft. high, an extinct raccoon as big as a bear, various ancient horses and dogs and the Carcharodon megalodon, a relative of the great white shark. As Ron Love put it, 'They had one hell of a zoo here.' " In seven years of excavation, more than 100 species of animals were found, many of them long extinct dating back 9 million years. In appreciation, researchers named one new sabertooth species after the Love's: Barbourofelis lovei. After attending the University of Florida, Ron founded North Central Florida Landscape, Inc. He worked with major developers throughout the Southeast, creating and maintaining landscaping for new constructions in the mid-70s. Changing direction in 1987, Ron and his wife, Delia, started Rode Groundcovers, becoming the first operation in the area to mass-produce a select variety of drought and cold-tolerant groundcovers. Continuing his interest in plant cultivar selection, Ron discovered a popular variety of liriope he patented as the "Emerald Goddess." At Rode, he spent many cold nights walking crops with his children. Ron loved managing the farm, running equipment, or simply watching the irrigation nourish the legacy that he had built. Memorial Service Friday, April 28, 2023 11:00 AM Knauff Funeral Home - Williston 512 E Noble Ave Williston, FL 32696