Package holiday pioneer Jim Preston, who founded Lyons Tours in 1955, had died at the age of 93 after a long illness.
Born in Lancashire in 1929, he left school aged 14 to work for the Colne Co-operative.
He started in the grocery business but later moved to the excursion department – which was an agent for early tour operators such as Wallace Arnold and Thomas Cook.
In 1954 he won a place on a “life-changing” six-week tour of islands in the Caribbean, thanks to his union.
He returned to his job at the excursion department but felt unsettled, so organised a coach tour holiday to Ostend, which also visited Bruges, Ypres and Middelkerke in the Netherlands.
His girlfriend was Sheila Lyons so they called the company Lyons Tours.
The trip generated a net profit of £120 at a time when Jim was earning £8 gross per week at the Co-op.
In 1956, they added Lech in Austria and profits soared to £2,500.
It was also the year Jim married Sheila, with a honeymoon spent contracting hotels for the following holiday season.
By 1963 there were air tours to the Costa Brava using flights from Gatwick to Perpignan, and the company joined Abta.
Tragically that year, one of the flights crashed during a storm in the Pyrenees, killing 40 passengers.
In 1966, the company produced its first colour brochure – 72 pages and a two-million print run – and bought a computer for £60,000.
He also sold the company in 1966 to Air Holdings, as stress was taking its toll on his health, but he stayed on as managing director until 1972.
In 1969, there was a second fatal plane crash, again in the Pyrenees.
After retiring from the company aged 42, he moved into buying and selling property in Spain.
In 1994 he discovered cruising with a trip to Alaska and took more than 40 cruises to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Canaries, Norway and Iceland.
He leaves behind his second wife, Marylyn, who said: “He was a true gentleman and will be a big loss to his family and friends.”
He also leaves a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
A memorial service will be held at St Michael and All Angels Church in Foulridge on Wednesday August 3 at 1pm.