Carlos Miguel Arcangel Vidal y Gomez, 80, of Plant City, died July 11, 2015.
Mr. Vidal was a proud graduate of Colegio Champanat in Camaguey, Cuba, where he was born and lived until 1961. He received his pilot’s license from the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1952 at 18. He began his career in aerial surveying in 1956, assisting with field controls for mapping the island of Cuba through 1958. In November of 1961, he secured passage with his wife and two infant daughters, as political refugees, to the United States after the Castro regime took hold in Cuba. The Vidal family was sponsored by the wonderful Jacobowski family in Minnesota through Catholic Relief Services.
After arriving in the U.S., he worked for Mark Hurd Aerial Surveys Inc. in Minneapolis.Mr. Vidal moved the family to Plant City. In 1968, he opened his own business providing aerial surveying, digital mapping and photogrammetric service until his retirement in 2003. The company worked throughout the Southeast and the Caribbean. In 2000, the Hillsborough County Land Surveying Department named a control benchmark in his honor for his contributions to the overall land mapping database of the county.
Although Mr. Vidal loved Cuba, he had the distinct pleasure of becoming an American citizen in 1977. Mr. Vidal was a member of the Centro Asturiano of Tampa, the Spanish Lyrical Society, the American Society of Photogrammetry and a parishioner of St. Clement Catholic Church.
He is survived by his daughter, Isabel Vidal (Joel Grigsby), of Lincoln, Illinois, Zoila Vidal and Martha Shaffer (Isaac); son, Carlos Vidal (Monica); grandchildren, John Grigsby, Margaret “Johanna” Grigsby, Guinevere Decker, Nina Gonzalez, Ana Reynolds, Christopher Vidal, Alexander Vidal, Juliana Vidal and Lukas Shaffer; great-grandchildren, Aria and Ian; sister, Mirtha Barrios (Dr. Juan Nicolas Barrios); nephews, Nicolas, Anthony, James and Michael Barrios, Fabio John Leonard and Rainer Lopez; niece, Mary Jean Hanson; brother, Daniel Vidal; and many grand-nieces, grand-nephews, great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews.
Mr. Vidal was predeceased in death by his parents, Emilio and Zoila Vidal y Gomez; his wife of 46 years, Maria Isabel Vidal y Royero; sister, Zoila Lopez; and brother-in-law, Jose “Fabio” Lopez.
Visitation was held Wednesday, July 15, at Wells Funeral Home in Plant City. Mass celebrating his life was held Thursday, July 16, at St. Clement Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of choice, the March of Dimes organization or the American Diabetes Association. Online condolences may be made at WellsMemorial.com.