Tom Marvin: Guitar man keeps travelin' on

Tom Marvin (right), brother-in-law Bob Lecraft

By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)

Former Beacon Journal photographer Tom Marvin is king of the road.

Tom and wife Kay finished a 3,000-mile autumn trip along the Gulf Coast and up through Appalachia last month before parking their 6-month-old camper on their Guernsey County farm in southern Ohio.

Before that, they spent 6 months and covered 10,000 miles in a truckbed camper, most of it in Alaska, which is familiar territory to another retired BJ photographer, Don Roese, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls. 

The Marvins sold the truckbed  camper, thinking their camping days were over, but decided to buy the trailer camper they used for their trip south.

They’ll have to leave the trailer behind next September, though, when they fly to Hawaii for their 25^th wedding anniversary, which is Oct. 1.

Speaking of Don Roese, Tom and Don and their wives took a trip through the Panama Canal together not that many years ago.

Don and wife Maryann are planning a trip to New Zealand, where 1970s BJ reporter Cathy Strong is a university  journalism guru. 

Paula and I will be meeting Cathy in New Zealand during our March 12-April 2 New Zealand/Australia trip next year.

Tom Marvin says he still has a sheepskin rug, a gift from Cathy.

The photo of Tom shows him with Bob Lecraft, husband of Tom’s wife Kay’s sister. Tom has been playing the guitar since he was 11 years old. That’s 55 years of strumming. 

He recalls playing with another former BJ reporter, Ted Gupp, who was on harmonica, at Hunter’s on Turkeyfoot Lake.

Tom and Kay have 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Beth Marvin Stevens, a Los Angeles attorney, from Tom’s marriage to former BJ staffer and former Hoover High School English and journalism teacher Pam McCarthy, gave birth to the two most recent grandchildren, which means that Pam’s grandchildren total is growing, too.

Pam is district manager for Arbonne International, a skin care and health products company.

Tom’s new email address is TMarvin7471@gmail.com His phone number is (740) 498-7471. His address is:

74321 Birch Rd
Kimbolton,Oh 43749

The Marvin farm is just north of Salt Fork State Park in southern Ohio, near I-77 and north of Cambridge.

What about YOU? Have you been traveling lately? If you have, email details and jpeg photos, showing you and family at your destinations, to John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com If you found Tom’s travels interesting, then other BJ folks (current and retired) will find yours of interest, too.