Francis 'Frank' Edward Borza

Francis (Frank) Edward Borza, 79, of Madeira Beach, FL passed away peacefully on Monday November 15th, 2021 at the home of his son and his wife in Flossmoor, IL, a suburb of Chicago.

    Frank was born January 19th, 1942 in Auburn, NY and was the 3rd son of Peter J. and Anne T. (Lasagna) Borza. He graduated from Holy Family Grade School, Auburn Central High School, Auburn Community College, and Syracuse University.

    Frank was a well-known guitar and bass player in upstate New York – having played his first ‘gig’ at the Hotel Albee at the age of 12 (his mother had to accompany him because of his young age). He played in countless well-known jazz and rock n’ roll bands in greater upstate New York area with many of the other local musical giants, including Dick Howard, Lyman (Butch) Strong, Chuck "Rubber Legs" Hayden, Ted Bazarnik, Paul Gagliano, Brian Sanders, John Kane, Herb “Ebb tide” Nelson and Art “Legs” Robbins, to name a few. Frank owned and operated the Music Mart on Genesee St. in Auburn with his lifelong friend, Dick Howard, from 1966 to 1976, and taught guitar to numerous students in this period.

    Along with his wife, Joyce, and his brother, Bob, Frank bought the Brookside Inn on Grand Avenue in Auburn in 1972, transforming it into the ‘Parkway East’, later renamed ‘the Red Carpet’, providing outstanding live music, dining and banquet facilities to the area.

   He worked as a chemical engineer at General Electric 1966-1972 at either the Syracuse or Auburn New York plants then later, after relocating his family to Madeira Beach, Florida, at the plant in Largo, Florida (1980-1996) until his (first) retirement. In 1997 he and Joyce opened MAFCO, Inc., a metal finishing business, where Frank invented a process for anodizing beryllium parts used for numerous NASA and military applications, including the Hubble Space telescope, Stealth bombers, Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, and a range of other military aircraft. Frank also used this time to go back to school to become a GIA certified jeweler, specializing in custom design work. In addition to selling his jewelry to shops and clients in the Tampa Bay area, he designed and made keepsake necklaces, and engagement/ wedding rings for many of his family and friends. He retired (again) from MAFCO in 2018 and spent the rest of his days enjoying time with his loved ones and traveling multiple times with his family to Europe, including Italy, Sicily, England, and Spain.

   Frank is survived by his wife of 57 years, the former Joyce Millen; two sons, Frank Jr. (Traci “Dee”, wife) and Jeffrey (Karyn, wife) Borgia; 6 grandchildren Angelica, Nevaeh, Ella, Ruby, Francesca, and Daniel; 1 brother, Peter (Hazel, wife), 1 sister, Linda (Dr. Pang Lay Kooi, husband); sisters in law: Barbara Crosby, Trudy and her husband Chuck Mitchell; and numerous nieces, nephews, and great nieces/ nephews.

   He was a member of Blessed Sacrament Church in Largo, FL. A celebration of Frank's life will be held Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 11:30 am in Willard Chapel in Auburn.

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