Merline Thoma Lovelace

Class of 1968: Air Force colonel, best-selling novelist

After a 23-year career commanding U.S. Forces around the world, USAF Col. Merline Thoma Lovelace launched a second career as a writer, basing many of her tales on her own experiences in uniform.

She has published more than 100 novels with 12 million copies in print in 30 countries. Her books have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA and the University of Oklahoma’s Writer of the Year.

She was born in September 1946 in Northhampton, Massachusetts. Her father was a career Air Force veteran, and she grew up on bases all over the world. While she was in high school, the family moved to her father’s hometown of Watertown, Wisconsin. Her high school English teacher was a graduate of Ripon and encouraged Lovelace to apply here.

A Woodrow Wilson scholar, she majored in German and Russian at Ripon. She said she has the warmest memories of working at Lane Library, but her love of reading proved hazardous. “They had to send out a search party a couple of times,” she said. “They found me sitting on the floor reading when I was supposed to be shelving.”

She studied Mandarin Chinese at Princeton University and Middlebury College, Vermont; earned a master’s degree in public administration from Troy State University, Alabama; and attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

She served in the U.S. Air Force for 23 years, attaining the rank of colonel, and served at bases around the world, including tours of duty in Taiwan, Vietnam and at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She commanded Eglin Air Force Base, the biggest base in the Air Force, and is a distinguished graduate of Squadron Officers’ School, Armed Forces Staff College and Air War College.

Her many military awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster and the Bronze Star for service in Viet Nam.

She received Ripon’s Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2026.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my Air Force career,” Lovelace said. “I especially loved being in charge and the responsibility that came with command. I always felt I was part of something very important.”

After retiring from the military, Lovelace turned to her love of reading and launched a whole new career as a writer. Her fresh voice and convincing details brought her almost instant success.

“The education I received at Ripon College provided an excellent launch board for both of my careers,” she said. “A liberal arts background provides a broad perspective in so many different areas. I’m very grateful for the education and people here at Ripon that opened my mind to a lot of avenues I might not have explored otherwise.”