A Mantua arborist known around Gloucester County as a dedicated volunteer and family man died Tuesday morning while cutting down a tree in Pitman.

John "Jack" Love, 47, was working in a maple tree on Grandview Avenue when the weight of a branch he had just cut off pulled down the branch to which he was secured. The cut branch, which was nearly 2 feet in diameter at its widest point and 26 feet long, landed on top of him after a 30-foot fall.

Jack's brother, Thom Love, an emergency room doctor, lives near the scene of the accident. Thom was summoned to the area, and he worked quickly to save his brother. However, Thom said, "his wounds were just too grave." Jack was pronounced dead at Cooper Hospital in Camden shortly before noon.

"He was my big brother, and my best friend," said Thom. "He was an amazing guy--a hardworking guy, who was all about his family."

As traumatic as the situation may have been, Thom said he was glad to be there for his brother.

"I was with him where he was first injured. I would not have been satisfied if I hadn't been there," he said. "Nobody wants to do CPR on their brother, but I was there for him, and he wouldn't have wanted anything else."

One of five children, Jack grew up on a farm in the Sewell section of Mantua Township. His father, Jack W.P. Love, was a founding physician of what is now Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury, where Thom now works.

Jack and Thom, born less than two years apart, both excelled in sports at Clearview Regional High School. The pair even attended Ursinus College in Pennsylvania together, where they earned eight varsity letters apiece for wrestling and football. Jack made sports a hobby his entire life, coaching Clearview youth football and wrestling as well as volunteering with Little League baseball. His son, Jack Love III, is also an accomplished athlete.

"He tried to make it to every game, every match, which is something he learned from our father," said Thom. "Our father made it a priority, so Jack made it a priority."

In addition to his dedication to sports and family, Jack was an avid farmer, and cared deeply about the preservation of open space. He was also deeply religious. Jack was a longtime member and deacon of the Presbyterian Church at Woodbury, and drove his mother to services every weekend.

"We didn't have any plans of him dying at this age," Thom said. "But he was very comfortable with his religion, and he made me more comfortable too. He used to say, 'my soul is prepared. I'm not worried.'"

Even with such deep convictions, Thom said, "he didn't judge anybody. To know him was truly to love him."

Jack is survived by his wife of 17 years, Margie Love; his son, John Love III, his mother, Sally Love; and siblings Robin Love, Thom Love, Deming Love and Megan Sakhleh.

The family will receive visitors at the Davis & Wagner Funeral Home, 171 Delaware St., Woodbury, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, visitors are welcome to the Presbyterian Church at Woodbury, 67 S. Broad St., starting at 9:30 a.m. A funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Jack W.P. Love III Fund, care of Cathy Bratek, at Capital Bank, 890 Mantua Pike, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097. An online guestbook is available at daviswagner.com.

Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.