Henry A. Vidal, Jr.
Henry’s Funeral will take place on August 9, 2024 at 11:30 am at St. Francis of Assisi
Henry A. Vidal, Jr. died peacefully on July 20, 2024, at his home in San Antonio, TX. He was born on August 15, 1927, in San Antonio, TX, to Henry “Enrique” A. Vidal, Sr. of San Antonio, TX and Louise Williams of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Shortly after the birth of their second child Alex, their mother died, and the two children would live with their grandparents until their father would wed Mary Cortez and start a new family that welcomed siblings Roland R. Vidal and Gloria Vidal Garcia (Rudy). Henry joined the new family and Alex would be raised by his grandparents. Although separated at an early age, Henry would often ride his bicycle across town to visit his brother. They would remain very close all their lives.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Henry, or “Junior” as his parents called him, had a paper route and as the oldest, performed chores at home and watched over his younger brother and sister. He recalls the days when a horse driven ice truck would deliver ice for the refrigerator and one of his chores would be to make sure the drip pan would be emptied as needed. Growing up during the Great Depression, he matured early and learned the value of hard work and being a good provider like his father, who he idolized.
Henry attended Thomas Jefferson High School where he joined the ROTC and played the trumpet. After school hours he worked at Wolf & Marx department store making deliveries. In 1945 immediately after graduation, WW II was still raging and like so many other brave men of his generation, Henry signed up for the Navy. At 17, he would need his father’s permission to join.
Henry returned to San Antonio from the Navy and took on a job at a paint store. He would use this experience later in life and work with his brother Alex painting houses. In 1950, Henry and Alex together decided to take the San Antonio civil service exam for the position of policeman or fireman. They mutually agreed to select fireman and having both done well on the exam, soon began their fire service careers.
Firefighting in the 1950’s was different than today. Cadets would go to training school during the day and work at a fire station at night. Their firefighting coats were made of cotton, firefighters were not allowed to wear gloves, they had no breathing apparatus and as was often said, “all the ladders were made of wood...but the firemen were made of steel”. Henry and Alex would both achieve the rank of Captain and serve 42 and 44 years respectively.
Henry met and married Mary Louise “Mary Lou” Villareal in 1951. They had three children, sons Henry A. Vidal, III (Nancy) and Paul E. Vidal, Sr. (Sharon) and daughter, Norma J. Vidal.
After Henry and Mary Lou divorced, he found love again with a friend from his high school days and went on to marry Emma E. Flores. He welcomed his stepchildren Linda Reyes, Richard “Rick” A. Reyes, II (Janet), Patricia “Pat” Smith (James) and Raymond Reyes (Patricia). Henry and Emma were married for 48 years. During their marriage they both enjoyed dancing, traveling and being with family.