Carlos Rafael Tejas

TEJAS, Carlos Rafael, 51, of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., passed away Friday, August 26, 2011. He was born in Havana, Cuba, moved to Bayonne, NJ in 1970, lived in Miami, Fla., and moved to Land O’ Lakes, Fla., in 1996. Carlos was a retired Veteran serving 20 years in the Air Force. He was last assigned to the 6th Communications Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., During his Air Force career he was a communications engineer/officer and upon retiring he joined the private sector as an Information Technology Executive with the latest as Vice President of Business Development and Contract Management for Advanced C4 Solutions a Department of Defense contractor. Carlos graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and Old Dominium University with a Masters in Engineering Management. He was a member of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association and the Suncoast Chapter of the National Contract Management Association. He is preceded in death by his parents; Aida and Carlos Tejas. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Claribel Tejas; son, Christopher; two daughters, Jessica and Chelsey; two sisters, Lily Rivero and Yami Avila. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church. The family will receive friends on Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Loyless Funeral Home.