news-record.com

People knew Richard Love was born rich, a son of Spencer Love, who founded Burlington Industries in 1923 and built it into one of the world's largest textile companies.

His pedigree perhaps explains his peculiar business ways and lifestyle. The rich can afford to do things their way.

As a house builder, Love didn't generate much love among clients. He was chronically tardy in finishing houses.

For a man supposedly wealthy, he lagged in paying subcontractors, causing construction delays.

Subcontractors finally made Love pay on the spot for supplies and services.

A fellow builder who rented Love a house a few years ago had to kick him out when he fell a year behind in rent.

Little was heard of Love in recent years. The phone book continued to list Richard Love Construction Co. in an office building at 1207 W. Bessemer Ave. A sign that went up last year on a lot on Country Club Drive said it would be the site of a house by Love Construction.

It won't be built, at least not by Love. He was found dead in the early afternoon of Jan. 25 in a house he was renting at 1100 Quail Drive in Guilford Hills.

The neighborhood is nearby, but it's far away in price range from Irving Park, where Love grew up and built houses.

He was 72 and frail. Police, in a brief press release, said he died from "an apparent gunshot wound."

Police said the death didn't appear to be a burglary or robbery. They don't eliminate the possibility of foul play but say the death doesn't appear to be a homicide.

Love was found by a deputy and Love's landlord, Detective Tim Parrish said. He declined to say what brought the two to the house.

Parrish also wouldn't identify the landlord. The person listed on tax records as the owner could not be reached for comment.

Real estate agent Herman Pickett, whose office is also in the West Bessemer complex, said Love moved out a few months ago.

He told Pickett he planned to work from home.

Love had none of his father's tough, dynamic, workaholic ways. It was said that when Spencer Love played bridge, he did paperwork on a table beside him.

Richard Love worked for Burlington Industries after he graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, but he didn't stay with the company long. His dad was demanding of all his employees and quick to fire those who displeased him.

Love started his own construction company here specializing in expensive homes, mostly in Irving Park. He earned a reputation for building high-quality homes using the best materials. In Greensboro, he pioneered putting fireplaces in master bedrooms.

But it took him an eternity to finish a house.

A lawyer, who has since moved to Washington, sued Love in 1978. The lawyer said Love signed a contract to complete a house for him by a date certain. The lawyer alleged Love had no intention of meeting the deadline.

In 1972, Love started building a big house for himself on Country Club Drive, bordering the Greensboro Country Club golf course. It was to be a Georgian-style house that would have blended well with others in the neighborhood, including an enormous Georgian-style home his father had built in the 1930s a half-block away.

By 1976, Richard Love's house was nowhere near completion. Neighbors complained about the delays. Love told them he needed another two years.

Later that year, a nighttime fire reduced the house to foundations. Love was convinced an arsonist set the fire, but no cause was determined. Love let the ruins sit, angering neighbors again. He said he planned to rebuild. Finally, the property changed hands. A house was built by a new owner.

Another fire that same year destroyed a Love house being built in New Irving Park. It was blamed on an electrical problem.

Opposites attract, so goes the saying. After Love's first marriage failed, he remarried in 1982 to Bonnie Blevins, as extroverted as he was introverted. Out of the blue, she called famed preacher Norman Vincent Peale to marry them. He did.

Love bought her a big Cadillac convertible that cost $55,000. She dubbed it the Love Mobile and rode around the city waving to everyone. For a woman who had been a foster child, she was having a blast.

The marriage didn't last. Bonnie Love moved to Myrtle Beach and bought a condominium. In 1997 her terminal cancer was diagnosed. She responded with a farewell party for herself. She died that year.

Love married twice more. Each ended in divorce.

Was he really rich? Detective Parrish declined to comment on Love's financial state. His multimillionaire father died in 1962. His late mother had money, making it a mystery why Love lived in rental houses and didn't pay bills.

He had a few close friends. Others who came in contact with him knew little of the man.

"He was not one to do much talking," real estate agent Pickett said.

Love will be missed at the K&K Cafeteria at Friendly Center. The staff said he dined there many nights.

In typical Love fashion, he always arrived late, just before closing time.