LADY LOVE

Jennifer Staubach Gates grew up in one of the most high-profile families in the neighborhood. The 1984 Ursuline Academy graduate — as everyone in the neighborhood knows — is the eldest daughter of football great Roger Staubach, who earned the Heisman Trophy in 1963 before spending 11 seasons as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, including five Super Bowls.

But despite that prestige, Gates did not grow up a princess. A strong work ethic was instilled in all five Staubach children at a young age. While she definitely defines her childhood as “idyllic,” she was tasked early with responsibilities to ensure she knew the value of hard work.

day when two cars collided, careening directly into Herling’s path.

“I had to run for my life,” he says.

But it was his parents who eventually put the kibosh on his rose-selling days. They finally got sick of some strange guys in a truck picking their adolescent son up every Saturday.

“One day they showed up and my dad just told them to leave,” he laughs.

Herling kept working all his life, eventually becoming a successful engineer who also makes quirky art out of found objects that can be seen all over his Glen Meadow lawn.

“We had a cleaning lady, but she wasn’t ever allowed in our rooms. We always cleaned our own rooms and bathrooms. We always had summer chores,” Gates remembers. “We always had a lot of responsibilities at home, but we were also expected to work.”

So when Gates was a high school student, probably a sophomore, she says, she jumped at the opportunity to work at Lady Love Inc., a Mary Kay-style competitor famous for its aloe vera skin care line, which had a distribution center in Addison at the time.

Gates was approached by a teacher at Ursuline who sold Lady Love products on the side. There was a job available at the distribution center, and Gates would be perfect for it, she said.

Never one to miss out on an opportunity, Gates applied.

“I worked in their stock room. The sales reps would drop off their