Pedro "Pete" Vidal Iii

Pedro “Pete” Vidal III was born to Pedro and Aura Violeta Vidal in Tariba, Venezuela on September 4th, 1971. He came to the United States in 1973 with his parents. His grandfather, Colonel Pedro Jose Vidal I - or, as Pete knew him, Abuelo‚ - came to the U.S. as the Venezuelan military attaché with the mission of representing Venezuela in an uncertain post-Cold War world. Though Abuelo’s assignment ended in 1978, Pete’s parents stayed, taking their shot at forming their own independent life. Pete’s father worked hard to better himself through higher education, becoming a university instructor, while his mother tirelessly dedicated herself to the world of international politics, securing positions across major international organizations such as the World Bank, the Venezuelan Embassy, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Pete always had an adventurous spirit and was never afraid of anything or anyone. At five years old, he was already traveling alone to Venezuela with nothing more than a backpack and his passport hanging around his neck by a string. He even told his parents, “I wanna go see my grandparents, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!” He was curious and rambunctious as a child - getting into more trouble than he was worth! As a youth he loved magic, skateboarding, being on his BMX bike and refused to stay out of the woods. He loved playing with his cousins, forcing them to learn magic tricks, watching scary movies, jamming out to music and being a goofball. As a child, Pete began his early education at the Rock Creek Palisades Elementary School in Kensington, Maryland living in a home filled with family. Family from all generations, including his young uncles, aunts, and his grandmother, who all worked hard to help raise him while his parents worked even harder to provide for him any way they could. After graduating from Wood Middle School he went to Rockville High, where he left a legacy of incredible athletic performance on the football field. Many may remember when, at only 16 years old, he ran away from home to Ocean City after being punished by his parents. While your average teenager may have struggled after a day to make sense of themselves alone in a new place, Pete was different. At 16, he was already somehow collecting tips selling pizza slices on the seashore. Both at the beach and in life, Pete proved himself a veritable jack-of-all-trades, mastering anything he put his mind to, be it magic, music, photography, videography, computing, or Doom on the playstation. In his early 20s, he was a whirlwind, chasing after whatever he wanted with reckless abandon and never worrying about himself. He attended American University and several other colleges trying to figure out which career path to take. Pete was the oldest of his siblings with a brother who was born when Pete was 21, then four years later another brother. It wasn’t until the devastating loss of his father in 2005 that he pursued completing a degree at Montgomery College, then went on to obtain both a Bachelor of Science in Communication, and then a Masters Degree at Bowie State University. Pete met Hannah in 1996 while he worked at Party ‘N Paper, a store in Washington D.C, and became a permanent fixture of the Snyder household. In 1998 the Snyder family decided to move to the west coast to Eugene, OR; in 1999 Pete followed. There he continued to work in retail, eventually rising to store manager. Pete and Hannah eloped in 2000 and their first born son Paul was born in 2003 in Oregon. Their second, Moses, was born in Maryland in 2006, adding to the already full household of Pete’s two brothers, who he was helping to raise. Grace arrived in 2011 and shortly after the family moved to Poolesville. In their small townhouse Daniel and Hudson were added much to the delight of the Poolesville Baptist Church, where Pete was an elder. In 2015 Pete and Hannah found their home in Fredrick, joined the New Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and had RC in 2018. Hannah, along with his faith in Christ, helped Pete learn to temper the raging bonfire of his heart, and while he never lost his passion, he learned to control it and direct his fire towards what mattered in his life - his work, his family, his friends, and his hobbies. That spark kept burning in his heart until his final moment and it was what gave him his unstoppable drive in life. Throughout his life he engaged in the things that interested him 110%. As one example, he would spend hours perfecting a card trick only to later say that it wasn’t big deal. His enthusiasm about magic, skateboarding, bikes, scary movies, and music continued through his life, and in his later years was added by fast cars and motorcycles. His fascination with photography and movies grew into a profession that brought him joy every day. Most of all, he was a never-ending learner whose thirst for knowledge about the topics that interested him was unquenchable, sometimes to such an extent that he would lose the listener. Pete will be remembered for many things - the way he would make everyone stand together for 20 minutes for a single picture on Facebook; the way he would listen with his heart when we would talk about the most inconsequential of things; the way he would hug us on our way out after a birthday party or family gathering; and the way he would truly and earnestly tell us he loved us; and the way he would wave goodbye with the biggest of smiles on his face, waiting until the next time we saw him to talk our ears off about his latest movie obsession. He will be remembered for his unforgettable love of life, of God, and family, and will live on with us forever. He is most fondly remembered by Hannah as a complete dork.