Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Daniel E Tibbetts (18 Dec 1953 - 23 June 2006)

Well known local businessman and entrepreneur Daniel E Tibbetts passed away suddenly in Little Cayman on 23 June, 2006, at the age of fifty-two.

Though he was born and raised in St Petersburg, Florida, Mr Tibbetts had strong ties to the Cayman Islands, the land of his father Linton Tibbetts, and continued the family tradition of developing business on these Islands, especially Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

A graduate of Lakewood High School and Stetson University in Deland Florida, Mr Tibbetts' entrepreneurial spirit materialized in various business ventures on all three Cayman Islands, as well as in Florida.

The Little Cayman Beach Resort (LCBR), his first development on that Island in 1991, was followed by Conch Club Condominiums and The Club Condominiums, the only luxury resort on the Sister Islands.

Mr Tibbetts also owned Reef Divers I and Reef Divers II, the dive operations for the Brac Reef Beach Resort, another family-owned business, and LCBR, respectively.

He was a stockholder in the state-of-the-art business continuity and data storage company, Brac Informatics Centre (BIC), which opened in 2002 with the intention of diversifying business opportunities on Cayman Brac.

Following on from the success of BIC, Mr Tibbetts and a group of likeminded local business leaders were pursuing the ongoing development of a business resilience park on Cayman Brac's Bluff, known as UpTown.

Mr Tibbetts was on the Board of Directors of Cayman Brac Power and Light Company, and was formerly a Board Member of the Sister Islands Tourism Association.

Expanding his business interests to Grand Cayman, he purchased Bob Soto's Diving in 2001, though this, unfortunately, became one of the many casualties of Hurricane Ivan in September, 2004.

In St Petersburg, he owned Reef FantaSeas travel agency, and was an active partner in Tibbetts Holdings and Tibbetts International, both family holding companies. In addition, he was a stockholder of the family owned Cox Lumber Co until its recent acquisition by Home Depot.

Left to mourn his passing are parents Linton and Polly Tibbetts, son Michael Tibbetts, and daughters Emily and Jessica Tibbetts, sister Mary Brandes, twin sister Donna Hooker, and six nieces and nephews.

The funeral for the late Daniel Tibbetts will take place at the Starkey Road Baptist Church in Seminole, Florida, on Wednesday 28 June, starting at 11:00 am and conducted by Rev Jerry Lancaster and Rev Dan Shroy. Internment will follow at the Memorial Park Cemetery in St Petersburg Florida.

A Memorial Service will take place at First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman on Saturday, 1 July, starting at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to The Pines Retirement Home (PO Box 1140 GT, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), or Kirkconnell Community Care Centre (PO Box 145 SPO, Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands).

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