Exclusive: Stepson shares memories of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, lost in OceanGate sub tragedy

NEW YORK — Families have been rocked by the news of the OceanGate submersible tragedy in the Atlantic Ocean.

John Paschall, the stepson of victim and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, spoke exclusively to CBS2 on Thursday, hours after the U.S. Coast Guard said the vessel experienced a “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” and confirmed that the debris found on the sea floor were pieces of the missing sub.

Paschall, who is also the son of late CBS2 anchor Michele Marsh, spoke at length about Nargeolet, who was known affectionately as “Mr. Titanic” due to his expertise on the doomed cruise ship. Nargeolet was one of five on board the submersible when it went missing a few days ago.

“We focus so much on everything he did in the water, but I feel like some of his greatest accomplishments, too, were out of the water,” Paschall said. “I understand that in life it is sometimes not easy to be a stepfather, when you are coming into a situation where my father was still in the picture and I had a great relationship with him, but he was always so respectful of my relationship with him and he was such an important part of my life.

“We first met in my freshman year of high school. I remember the first thing he did for me that was so meaningful was he helped me with a science project on the building of a cell and creating a model of it, and I ended up getting an ‘A’ on it,” Paschall added. “Science is now my favorite subject, and it was one of those things where he never forced any help. I went and asked and he just did it.”

READ MORE: What we know about the tourist sub that disappeared on an expedition to the Titanic wreck

Nargeolet leaves behind a wife and three other children. Paschall said it was rewarding to have his stepfather be part of his young son’s life, if only for a short period of time.

“I was very happy that we were able to have that meeting occur,” Paschall said. “My son was born early in 2022, in January, and to be able to have that moment with him, to have him hold him, meant a lot. PH has just meant a lot to me, my family. He had such a close relationship with my mom. It was so meaningful to me in so many ways growing up.”

READ MORE: What to know about the 5 passengers who were on the Titanic sub

It is said that Nargeolet went down to view the Titanic wreckage more than 30 times. Paschall was asked if he can take any solace in the fact that his stepfather died doing what he loved to do — exploring and being an adventurer.

“Yeah, I think in my own opinion his home away from home was the ocean. He just felt so comfortable there,” Paschall said. “I know so much of the focus of this discussion is about risk, and I felt he just accepted the risk and knew what it was, but he loved what he did.

“The Titanic meant so much to him, every artifact he brought up, whether it was small or it was large, meant so much to him. And the ones he was able to share with family was incredible. He was just an amazing man in what he was able to do, and, yes, being in the Titanic, in that area, in his final moments, while it’s so raw and fresh that we’re dealing with it, I think it means a lot that he spent his final moments near a scene in the world that meant so much to him,” Paschall added.

To learn more about Nargeolet’s relationship with Marsh, please click on the video above.