Born in Morganfield, Kentucky, Lovelady was raised in Worland, Wyoming, where he delivered newspapers.
He joined Time Inc. in 1996 as "editor at large", a title and role created specifically for him by Norman Pearlstine.
Lovelady left Time Inc. in 2004 and began working at Campaign Desk, a Columbia Journalism Review Web site.
In his first marriage he was married to Linda R. Higgins, and together they had two daughters, Sara and Stephanie, and two grandchildren.
[3] Lovelady died of throat cancer on January 15, 2010, in Key West, Florida, at the age of 66.