History & Staff

Boza & Roel Funeral Home has a rich history serving the Latin and Anglo community of Tampa and can actually trace its beginnings to Cuba with the 1853 founding of the very first Boza Funeral Home by Arturo P. Boza and his brother.

In 1889,as more Cubans migrated to America to follow the cigar industry here,Arturo Boza, Jr. opened a funeral home in Key West. His heir, Armando P. Boza introduced the first motor hearse there in 1926, and in 1928 moved the entire funeral home operations to Tampa in 11 trips with the hearse.

Following the death of Armando P. Boza, Sr.,Gerald M. “Jerry” Boza and Armando P. Boza, Jr. succeeded their father and continued the Boza tradition of providing caring service to the Tampa community. Following Jerry’s death, Armando Jr. along with his wife Margaret “Maggie” Boza continued operating the Tampa funeral homes in the family tradition. In 1999, the A. P. Boza Funeral Home merged with the Roel & Curry Armenia Chapel, founded in 1975 by James Roel. Today it operates as the Boza & Roel Funeral Home, which proudly continues to serve the families of Tampa and surrounding communities.