His children were his life.

Leaving a legacy of hard work, innovation and vision, Dan Tibbetts is remembered as a loving father, a respected friend and colleague, and an understanding employer by those who knew him.

He was a man who truly enjoyed working hard and loved to build and create, according to his son, Michael Tibbetts.

“My father was a gentle person and always cared about those around him. He cared deeply about the Cayman Islands, especially the Sister Islands,” he said.

Dan Tibbetts had strong ties to his heritage in these Islands, the land of his father, but maintained a bright vision for the future of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

He was also closely bonded with his family - parents Linton and Polly Tibbetts, children Michael, Emily and Jessica, sister Mary Brandes, twin sister Donna Hooker, as well as his nieces and nephews.

Linton Tibbetts said of his son, “I’ve never seen a father so dedicated to his three children and, in turn, they returned that love and devotion to him. His children were his life.”

Dan Tibbetts’ entrepreneurial spirit materialized in various business ventures on all three Cayman Islands, as well as in Florida, but the physical results of his energy are most visible on Little Cayman, where he built several resorts.

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

He 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.

Martin van der Touw, Manager of Reef Divers Cayman Brac, said, “In eight years that I have known Dan, he never raised his voice towards any staff member. He was very fair with all the staff and gave everyone equal opportunities to prove themselves.”

 “He believed in keeping the staff morale high, and made sure that everyone was happy.

He cared deeply about our families and made many comments to me personally about my son, and what pleasures and joys lie ahead being a father.”

Mr van der Touw noted that Mr Tibbetts always made sure the dive operations had the best equipment, and the safety of the staff and guests always come first.”

“Dan had a strong commitment towards his staff and his companies on the Sister Islands to ensure the growth of the diving industry in the Sister Islands. He will indeed be missed dearly by all of us,” added Mr van der Touw.

Dan’s friend on Little Cayman, Pastor Dan Shroy, recalled that Mr Tibbetts worked hard to promote tourism and economic development in the Sister Islands, and worked tirelessly after the 9/11 terrorism attack in the US, and again in the tourism slump after Ivan.

Speaking on behalf of the Sister Islands Tourism Association (SITA), of which Mr Tibbetts was a former Board Member, Treasurer Marc Pothier called him a pioneer in tourism on Cayman Brac and on Little Cayman, and a mentor to many current members. 

“He was always very open with his success and failures with the LCBR, and he wanted the rest of SITA to learn from his own experiences,” said Mr Pothier.

He recalled, “Dan remained optimistic about tourism in the Post Ivan times, and he constantly reminded us that everything was going to be OK as long as everyone kept working hard.  

Mr Tibbetts 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 visionary development of a business resilience park on Cayman Brac’s Bluff, known as UpTown.

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.

Mr Tibbetts was born and raised in St Petersburg, Florida, and was a graduate of Lakewood High School and Stetson University in Deland Florida.

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 until its recent acquisition by Home Depot.

Mr Tibbetts’ long-time friend and business colleague, Sister Islands MLA Moses Kirkconnell, said, “I am personally shocked and saddened by the loss of one of my best friends at such a young age. 

“Dan’s loss will be felt by the entire Cayman community, but most especially by Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.  His commitment to responsible development was clearly seen in the Sister Islands. 

“He will be greatly missed for his vision and dedication to planning projects that enhanced our tourism product and at the same time our quality of life.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and staff at this sad time,” added Mr Kirkconnell.

Daniel E Tibbetts passed away suddenly in Little Cayman on 23 June, 2006, at the age of fifty-two.