OBITUARY

 

Fernando Meneses, retired Dallas engineer who fled Castro’s Cuba, dies at 89 Fernando H. Meneses died of natural causes at his Dallas home Tuesday, nearly 51 years to the day after he fled Cuba with three suitcases and $5 in his pocket. He was 89. A successful electrical engineer and businessman in Cuba, Mr. Meneses left everything behind to escape a future under Fidel Castro. He settled in Dallas and built a second successful career designing electrical systems for projects including Texas Stadium and Reunion Tower. Visitation for Mr. Meneses will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Calvary Hill Funeral Home in Dallas. A funeral Mass will be celebrated for him at noon Thursday in the North Mausoleum Chapel at Calvary Hill Mausoleum, where he will be entombed. “He was pretty feisty,” said his daughter Estela Jones of Southlake. “He was a very firm, but very loving, father — very supportive.” Mr. Meneses was born in Havana and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Havana. He married Josefina Miquel, the daughter of the head of the university’s mathematics department. Mrs. Meneses, who taught math at Mary Immaculate School in Farmers Branch, died in 1984. Mr. Meneses had the largest electrical contracting business in Cuba at the time of the revolution, his daughter said. On Nov. 11, 1960, authorities strip-searched Mr. Meneses and inspected his luggage before allowing him to leave Cuba for what he claimed was a business trip to Miami. His wife and children slipped out of the country three days later. Mr. Meneses worked as a draftsman in Miami, where he studied to learn English and pass tests for engineering certifications. “When we came to the United States, my mother didn’t know how to cook, how to drive, because we had help that did all that” in Cuba, Mrs. Jones said. “None of us spoke any English.” In 1962, Mr. Meneses learned of a job opening with Herman Blum Consulting Engineers in Dallas. He was eventually named principal in charge of production for Herman Blum. Mr. Meneses did engineering consulting work into his 80s, his daughter said. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Meneses is survived by his wife of 26 years, Celina Meneses of Dallas; three other daughters, Lourdes Foster of Plano, Cristina Ball of Baton Rouge, La., and Patricia Kutscher of Dallas; two stepsons, Jorge Fernandez of Dallas and Robert Fernandez of Frisco; a stepdaughter, Maggie Taylor of Denton; 21 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Ann’s Haven VNA, 325 W. McKinney St., Suite 101, Denton, Texas 76201.

Submitted by Edward Lynn Williams