Antonio CARRODEGUAS

CARRODEGUAS, Antonio entered heaven on Thursday, October 11, 2012, at Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Antonio Carrodeguas, age 86, was a native of Habana, Cuba and resident of Tampa since 1961. He was a graduate of the University of Habana and the University of South Florida. Mr. Carrodeguas was a practicing CPA in Tampa for over 40 years, having worked at Bigham & Carter, CPAs and as an audit supervisor for Ernst & Young. In 1976 he began his own CPA practice and since 1984 he had been a principal in the firm Carrodeguas & Carrodeguas, PA, Certified Public Accountants. During the 1970s he also taught accounting at Hillsborough Community College - Ybor Campus. He was a long time member and Knight of the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago, the Knights of Columbus, the AICPA and the FICPA. Antonio was an active community leader, having served in the past as founder and Treasurer of the Cuban Civic Club, Treasurer of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of the downtown Tampa Sertoma Club, Treasurer and founder of A.L.A.T. - Asociacion Latino Americana de Tampa and a former Toastmaster. He was appointed by former Mayor Bill Poe to the first Hispanic Heritage committee in the Tampa Area and was a key part of the original Hispanic Heritage celebrations in the area. Mr. Carrodeguas also worked ardently for numerous years organizing the annual Mass and celebration of the Feast of Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre which was attended by thousands of local Cuban Americans. He often served as a volunteer for the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce Fiesta Day's Celebration and the Ybor City Night Parade, as well as, the Krewe of San't Yago Knight Parade, and St. Lawrence Catholic Parish Carnival. He also served as a lector at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Currently, he was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in South Tampa. Mr. Carrodeguas was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Raquel "Cuca" Carrodeguas; parents, Manuel Carrodeguas and Dolores Lopez; sisters, Carmen Carrodeguas-Garcia and Alba Carrodeguas-Mendez; sisters-in-law, Yolanda Arrazcaeta, Martha Pazos, Maria Teresa Menendez, and Gladys Portela; brothers-in-law, Ramon "Mongo" Arrazcaeta, Jose Maestu, Carlos "Toto" Pazos, Nelson Portela, Gonzalo Mendez and Jose Garcia; and nephew, Richard Pazos. Survivors include his daughter, Raquel J. Carrodeguas de Timberlake and husband Tom Timberlake; sister in law Hersilia Maestu; grandson, Tommy Carrodeguas Timberlake and his wife, Maile Morales Timberlake; adopted granddaughter, Eneysi Oliva; godson, Alejandro Cruz; nieces and nephews, Sonia Garcia, Lourdes Vasquez, Jose Maestu, Jr., Raul Garcia and wife Rosa Maria, Gonzalo Mendez and wife Gemma, Carlos A. Pazos and wife Carol, Gladys Portela, Raymond Arrazcaeta and wife Marife, Fernando Arrazcaeta and wife Yvette, Nelson Arrazcaeta, Olga Portela-Casanova and husband Javier and Martha Portela Andreu; along with numerous great nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday morning, October 16, at 11 o'clock at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 3012 W. Cherry Street, with the Rev. Father Douglas Hyppolite, SJ, officiating. Entombment will follow in Centro Espanol Memorial Park. Pallbearers include: Maidel Morales, Jose G Maestu, Jr., Nelson Arrazcaeta, Fernando Arrazcaeta, Gonzalo Mendez, Tom Timberlake, Tommy Timberlake, Jeffrey Gasser, and Gladys Portela. Honorary Pallbearers include: Juan A del Cueto, Raudel Martinez, Fernando Perez, DVM, Ernesto Triay, Ortelio Rodriguez, Alfonso Ortiz, and Alberto Sanchez. The family will receive friends Monday evening, October 15, from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM at the chapel of JGR Funeral Home, 6718 North Armenia Avenue, Tampa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to: Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, Florida 33612, Jesuit High School, Father Joseph Doyle Foundation, 4701 North Himes Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33614, or to the Academy of the Holy Names, Memorial Gifts, 3319 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33629. Please send online donations to: www.jgrfuneralhome.com .