Thomas Marsh ran travel agency for more than 20 years, remembered as dedicated dad

If you threw a dart at a picture of the world, wherever it stuck, odds are Thomas Marsh had been there.

Marsh, of Erie, loved traveling. So much so, that he started his own travel agency, North Coast Travel, at the age of 25.

"I was always really inspired that he managed to figure it all out on his own, but he immersed himself in the things he loved, so he would do all the research and do whatever it took to understand it and make it happen," said his daughter, Melissa Marsh.

Even after North Coast closed in 2006, Thomas Marsh's passion for travel followed him up until the day he died on July 30 at the age of 62.

ObituaryThomas Marsh, founder of North Coast Travel, dies at 62

Building a business: Marsh's 'other baby'

Melissa Marsh said her father considered North Coast Travel his "other baby."

"He was doing this without a college degree," she said. "He just knew what he had an interest in and he just wanted to go for it. It was very much his pride and joy."

In 1985, North Coast Travel opened its doors at 2216 W. Eighth St. with two full-time travel agents, one part-time agent and Thomas Marsh. Over the next 20 years, the agency hired nearly 20 agents and even opened a second office in Dallas, Texas.

North Coast Travel gained international attention as several of its agents were recognized in Conde Nast Traveler magazine as top specialists for certain destinations, according to a 2006 report by the Erie Times-News.

Through his agency, Thomas Marsh had the opportunity to travel around the world to places like Italy, the Caribbean Islands and various countries throughout Europe.

Melissa Marsh recalls spending time as a child setting up for travel expos in what is now the Erie Insurance Arena, and stamping brochures at her father's agency.

"(The agency) was like my second home," she said. "When I say I stamped brochures I would be in my own little cubicle, hand-stamp them all, know when to rubber band them, line them up in the boxes and tape them up. For me, it was fun, because I got to hang out with them."

She was there so often that former North Coast agent Terry Sage remembers Melissa Marsh as the "cute, little girl with braces and long hair" running around the office.

Sage, owner of Sage Travel Experts LLC, worked at North Coast for 14 years and said she wouldn't be the travel agent she is today without Thomas Marsh's guidance.

"If anybody else would’ve asked me to work the hours I worked and do the things I did, I probably wouldn't have," Sage said. "But if he asked us to walk on water, we’d figured out a way to do it for him."

Sage remembered her former boss as an advocate for travel education. He paid for all of his employees to get their Certified Travel Agent certification and made sure they used the most cutting-edge travel systems of the time.

"He was always about us being very professional agents," Sage said. "He wanted career people and that’s what we all were. He was just very driven in the travel industry and he wanted North Coast Travel to be the best."

To this day, Sage and other past North Coast employees stay in touch and reminisce about their time working with Thomas Marsh.

"I don’t think any of us who’ve worked for him can say their career could’ve been better if they hadn’t worked for North Coast," Sage said.

Becoming 'Unc-Dad'

As much time as Thomas Marsh dedicated to his business, he also dedicated himself to his family.

When Abby Gomez, Thomas Marsh's niece, was in second grade, her father suffered from a severe brain injury after a tree fell on his head. Shortly after, her parents got divorced, and Thomas Marsh, her uncle, stepped in.

"I don’t know if my uncle looked at it as his duty to my mom, but he treated us like we were his own and it was wonderful," Gomez said.

Gomez remembers all of the vacations she spent with her uncle and how he made it out to nearly every event she or her siblings had growing up. She said her uncle became a father figure to them, which earned him the nickname "Unc-Dad."

"It was just so easy to be yourself around him," she said. "When I was little he never judged me for thinking like a kid. You just wanted to tell him everything because he was so proud of you no matter what."

One last adventure with the family to Niagara Falls

Over the course of her life, Melissa Marsh has gone on many memorable vacations with her father; the Dominican Republic, Hawaii and even day trips spent driving around with no specific destination in mind.

But possibly the most memorable trip with her dad took place this past Fourth of July.

"There was a lot happening in the last two years of his life," Melissa Marsh said. "He was having strokes and he was in a car accident last year. So, he wanted to do one more trip, and he suggested Niagara Falls."

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Many years before, Melissa Marsh and her parents visited Niagara Falls and she remembers her father having the time of his life in the Cave of the Winds attraction. Despite all of his medical issues, Thomas Marsh wanted to make it to the falls one last time.

Melissa Marsh said her father didn't let stairs stop him from being on the top level of their double-decker boat and being immersed in the falls.

"He was a champ," she said. "We sat right in the middle and he thought it was so great and it was fun to relive going there again so many years later."

Thomas Marsh's spirit for adventure never wavered, and his daughter hopes those who knew her father will remember that.

"He wanted to be a part of things and explore and live life to the fullest he could," she said. "He had a good soul."

Baylee DeMuth can be reached at 814-450-3425 or bdemuth@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @BayleeDeMuth.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Thomas Marsh ran North Coast Travel, remembered as dedicated dad