Residents obtain recognition of J.D. Love

Debby Woodin, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Feb. 6—A ceremonial naming of a Joplin street in the East Town neighborhood will recognize former Joplin police officer and county coroner J.D. Love.

The Joplin City Council on Monday night authorized the addition of "JD Love Way" for a portion of South McKee Avenue from Third Street north to Central Street.

Three residents who supported the change accompanied Love to the meeting.

"We're so happy to present this and hopefully to get this approved for a man who is so deserving," Melodee Colbert-Kean, a former council member and mayor who sought the change, told the council.

Nanda Nunnelly, a business owner and a founding member of the Langston Hughes Cultural Society, told the council: "Mr. J.D. Love deserves this. He meant so much as a role model particularly to the Black community and the whole community because of his compassion and heart for the community."

Former council member Jim West said Love is well respected. "He is a good man," he added. "Let's give him his accolades while he is still here."

The audience and council members stood and applauded the unanimous approval of the council bill as Colbert-Kean and Nunnelly walked with Love to the podium.

Love said he hoped he could convey "what this means to me, my family and friends. There are a lot of days in my life I would like to forget, but this day, this evening, I will never forget."

Love, 86, joined the Joplin Police Department in 1965 and served 28 years. He later served two terms as Jasper County coroner and then worked 10 years for St. John's Regional Medical Center.

In speaking to the council, Love said he thought his duty as an officer would be to catch robbers and thieves but that he found out there was much more involved in serving the community as a peace officer.

Two years ago, several members of the Joplin Police Department and other volunteers visited Love and provided some repairs to his house. They described Love as kind and respectful, a man who was always willing to give people a second chance.

Colbert-Kean filed the needed paperwork with the city to obtain the change in the street name. It is the street where Love grew up, which he called his favorite street. She asked for it to be a ceremonial renaming, which means it will also retain the McKee name so that residents will not have to file a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service or emergency services.