Eric and Laura Marsh

Estate Gift Helps UW to Be its Best

Eric and Laura Marsh

It all began in Hastings, Nebraska, where a 16-year-old boy noticed a 15-year-old girl and never looked away. What began for Eric and Laura Marsh as high school sweethearts continues for a lifetime—two people building a life together, one step at a time.  

When Eric enrolled at the University of Wyoming and joined the swim team, Laura was right there with him. They married young, and when Eric returned to UW to finish his petroleum engineering degree, Laura went to work as a legal secretary at a Laramie law firm, helping them coverout-of-state tuition and make ends meet.  

“I was real fortunate that I had a beautiful bride that worked, and I worked, and between the two of us, we were able to pay out-of-state tuition and go to the University of Wyoming,” says Eric.  

Eric graduated in 1982 and headed straight into the oil and gas industry. The couple settled in Rock Springs, where their three daughters were born, before eventually moving to Denver. Eric’s career took him from Questar to Encana Corporation, where he rose to executive vice president. His work there helped develop the Jonah Field, whose name now graces the playingsurface at War Memorial Stadium.

Later, Eric and Laura founded Vine Energy together. They built it into one of the largest natural gas producers in the country, developing the Haynesville shale in Louisiana. It was sold to Chesapeake Energyin 2021.  

“When we built Vine Energy, my desire was never to have an average company,” says Eric. “We had the best people, and we had high expectations.”  

Through it all, Eric remained deeply connected to Wyoming. He served on the UW Foundation Board, the Engineering National Advisory Board, and Governor Mark Gordon’s Energy, Engineering, and STEM Integration TaskForce.  

Eric and Laura have designated a percentage of their trust to the University of Wyoming. This estate gift establishes the Eric and Laura Marsh Chair in Energy and Petroleum Engineering. It also enlarges support for their Eric and Laura Marsh Scholarship in Engineering, which is designed specifically for students from outside Wyoming who might otherwise find the cost of a UW education out of reach. Through the years, their philanthropy has supported a number of other programs across campus. They also support various Christian charities and their church.  

“At Vine Energy, we did one thing, and we did it better than anybody else,” says Eric. “That’s what I want to see at Wyoming with our legacy gift. It’s choosing the thing to focus on and going out and getting it done. Being average is never going to be good enough. We can be as good as any university that exists out there if we put our minds to it.”  

Have you thought about supporting the programs and initiatives you care about at UW through your estate plan? To learn more about your options or let our office know about a gift you have already planned, please contact Brett Befus at (307) 766-4259 or bbefus@uwyo.edu.  

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