History
Howard Boxwell, the oldest of five brothers, wanting an opportunity to be of service to his fellow man, enrolled in Worsham's School of Embalming in Chicago in the early 1920's. After finding that the funeral service profession was amenable to a family business, he invited brother
Paul Boxwell to join him in Chicago to learn the funeral directing and embalming profession. After graduation, the brothers, seeking an opportunity to be in business for themselves moved to Greeley, Colorado to join a partnership with a local funeral director. A few years in Greeley found them wanting an opportunity where more members of the family could join them in the establishment of a family business. An invitation in the Spring of 1926 brought them to Amarillo to establish their first funeral home in the 700 block of South Polk Street.
With their move to Amarillo, brothers
Howard and
Paul moved the remainder of the family including their parents,
E.E. & Maude Boxwell , three more brothers,
Alton Boxwell,
Lloyd Boxwell, &
Ivan Boxwell, and two sisters, Isabel and Zella to Amarillo to continue their educations and join in the family business.
When all five brothers had graduated from their funeral service education in the mid 1960's, Ivan's oldest son, James Boxwell
, joined the firm and
Michael Boxwell returned from his education in 1967.
In 1968,
Howard and
Paul decided it was time to retire and a new partnership was formed between
Alton and
Ivan Boxwell to operate the funeral home facilities in Amarillo, Perryton, and Spearman. The operations in Dumas and Stratford were sold.
With the forming of the new partnership, the move of the Amarillo firm to the locaiton at 2820 Virginia Circle was made. The partnership was short lived however, with the untimely death of
Alton from a heart attack.
Ivan became sole proprietor of the three remaining locations with his two sons in Amarillo and Alton's two sons in Perryton and Spearman. In the late 1970's, the brothers in Perryton and Spearman were given the opportunity to take over ownership of those funeral homes and
Jim and
Mike took over ownership and operation of the Amarillo facility. Today in the operation of the Amarillo funeral home,
Jim and
Mike Boxwell continue the ownership and operation with the addition of Mike's two sons,
Bart Boxwell and
Brad Boxwell. Once again, seeing an opprotunity to expand the family business,
Bart and
Brad have opened new operations in Vega, Claude, Stratford, Panhandle, and have returned to Dumas.
Since their establishment in 1926 in Amarillo, Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors has become the oldest same family owned and operated funeral home in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle.
In 2003 Boxwell Brothers moved from 2820 Virginia Circle to its present location at 2800 Paramount Blvd.
