Alice Menendez's Obituary
Alice “Cuquita” Castañeda Menendez, 101, of Tampa passed away peacefully at her home Friday, May 13. Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 21, 2022, at Boza & Roel Funeral Home, 4730 North Armenia Avenue, Tampa, Florida. Visitation will be at 10:00am with interment to follow at Centro Asturiano Memorial Park. Alice was a native of Ybor City and attended Hillsborough High School before moving to New York City in 1938 with her family due to the Great Depression. As fate would have it, fellow Tampanian José Menendez had done the same with his family. Alice and José were introduced by a mutual friend, dated for two years, and eloped in the midst of World War II in 1943. They returned to Tampa with their young family by 1958. Alice loved traveling, sewing, reading, music, and most importantly, family. She was fiercely proud of her Spanish heritage, and was always quick and happy to engage in conversation about the culture, history, and immigrant experience of the spirited, determined people of West Tampa and Ybor City.
Alice is predeceased by her husband, Joe; son, Joey; brother, Vincent; parents, Vicente and Josefa. She is survived by daughter, Elise Sierra (Paul); granddaughters, Gina Sierra and Jana Pullo (Robert); grandson, PJ; great-grandsons, Dominic Pullo and Gianni Townsend; and great-granddaughters, Giovanna Townsend and Melania Pullo. She also was lovingly cared for by Olga, Ruth, and Hortencia.
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