Guillermo Antonio Vidaud lived an abundant life spanning from February 22, 1929 to May 12, 2021.
He was born in Havana, Cuba in 1929 and graduated from the Havana University Architectural School in 1953, where he later served as a professor while maintaining a private practice in architecture. In 1955, Guillermo married the love of his life, Maria Elena de la Vega. In 1960, political turmoil in Cuba forced them to seek exile in the United States, along with sons William, Freddy, and yet-to-be-born daughter Maria Elena (Tina).
From 1962 to 1969, Guillermo worked as a professor of architecture at North Carolina State College, Texas A&M University, and Texas Tech University. He then served from 1970 to 1982 as Chief Architect for the City of Dallas Architectural Planning & Design Division, where his division was credited with numerous contributions to the architectural community. Among these were the preservation and restoration of the Downtown Dallas Union Terminal and Old City Hall, and implementation of one of the first solar-powered municipal facilities in Texas. Guillermo received many acknowledgments for his achievements by the Governor’s office, Mayor’s councils, City of Dallas leadership, religious and charity organizations, university institutions, and by the local professional institute of architects.
In the early 1970s, Guillermo and Maria became actively involved with programs sponsored by Catholic Charities in support of political refugees. The sudden passing of their daughter Tina in 1974 inspired them to take into their home several Vietnamese youth who fell victim to political turmoil within their own country.
Guillermo was especially passionate about improving the quality of life for physically and developmentally disabled citizens. In 1979, he formed the Association of Independent Living in conjunction with the Catholic Order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame to provide independent living training for developmentally disabled youth, so that they could live productive lives without dependency on tax supported institutions. The program was founded on the idea that “all adults have the right to experience life to the fullest extent of their abilities”. Its success encouraged the formation of other innovative group living communities throughout the DFW area. One of such communities was developed by Guillermo in 1986 with the assistance of son William, and became nationally acclaimed as a pioneering example of public-private partnership in serving the permanent residential needs of disabled citizens. Guillermo was directly involved in developing four independent living complexes capable of addressing the unique living needs of nearly eighty special residents.
In 1985, Guillermo and son William formed the architectural office of Vidaud + Associates Incorporated, where he became passionately involved in the design of Catholic churches until retirement in 2002. Guillermo took particular pride in the design of Saint Ignatius Chapel at the Montserrat Jesuit Retreat at Lake Dallas and Santa Clara Catholic Church in Southwest Dallas. During this period, Guillermo was also co-founder of Grupo Internacional Dallas that facilitated networking among local international professionals, and the Dallas Minority Design Professionals Council that advocated for local minority-owned architectural and engineering businesses.
Guillermo had truly diverse interests, and he particularly enjoyed modern art and architecture, opera and musical theater, sketching and acrylic painting, world travel, Café Cubano, dominoes, and social gatherings. He will be remembered as generous, passionate, colorful, humorous, engaging, and being deeply committed to his friends and family. Guillermo is survived by wife Maria Elena, sons Freddy and William, daughter-in-law Aileen, and grandsons William Anthony (Tony) and Josef.
Guillermo and Maria were parishioners at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas, where Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday June 2nd at 11:00AM, followed by a reception. Private interment of ashes will be at Calvary Hill Cemetery.
Memorial contributions in honor of Guillermo A. Vidaud may be made to the Storey Lane Independent Living Inc. (501C3). In memo, please specify the Guillermo A. Vidaud Memorial Fund. Donations can be mailed c/o Tom Dearing CPA, PO Box 608 Ponder, Texas 76259.
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