Carlos M. Vidal

Carlos Miguel Arcangel Vidal y Gomez, 80, of Plant City, Florida, passed away peacefully on July 11, 2015. He was predeceased in death by his parents Emilio and Zoila Vidal y Gomez, his beloved wife of 46 years Maria Isabel Vidal y Royero, his sister Zoila Lopez and brother-in-law Jose "Fabio" Lopez. Mr. Vidal was a proud graduate of Colegio Champagnat in Camaguey, Cuba where he was born and lived until 1961.

Mr. Vidal received his pilot's license from Spartan School of Aeronautics, Tulsa, OK in 1952 at the age of 18. He began his distinguished 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 States, working for Mark Hurd Aerial Surveys, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN, he moved the family to Plant City, FL. 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 his homeland, Cuba, he had the distinct pleasure of becoming an American citizen in November 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, her husband Joel Grigsby, son John Grigsby from Lincoln, IL, step-daughters Margaret “Johanna” Grigsby and Guinevere Decker and grandchildren Aria and Ian; his daughter Zoila Vidal and her daughters Nina Gonzalbez and Ana Reynolds of Plant City, FL; his son Carlos Vidal, his wife Monica and children Christopher, Alexander and Juliana from Ashburn, VA; and daughter Martha Shaffer, her husband Isaac and son, Lukas of Tampa, FL. Also surviving are Mr. Vidal’s sister Mirtha Barrios of Lakeland, FL, her husband Dr. Juan Nicolas Barrios, nephews, Nicolas, Anthony, James and Michael Barrios, Fabio, John, Leonard and Rainier Lopez, niece Mary Jean Hanson and his brother, Daniel Vidal of Chicago, IL,. Mr. Vidal also has many grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and great-grand nieces and great-grand nephews in Florida, Minnesota, and South Carolina.

A visitation will be held at Wells Funeral Home in Plant City, FL, on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from to 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  A funeral Mass to celebrate his life will occur on Thursday, July 16, 2015 at 11 a.m. at St. Clement Catholic Church in Plant City.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish, the family requests donations be made to the charity of your choice, the March of Dimes organization or the American Diabetes Association.