Anthony Stephen Pearl

Tony is survived by Brooke Luckey—his wife of 22 years…as well as mother Barbara (née Finkelstein) Pearl, sister Belinda Pearl, daughters Mandalae Pelayo (née Pearl) and Lanai Koep (née Pearl), step-children Lucaya Barlow (née Luckey-Bethany) and Logan Luckey; and grandchildren Dakota, Jakob, Aurelia, and Theodore.

Tony was born July 2nd, 1958 and was quickly adopted by loving parents Erwin and Barbara Pearl.

Tony’s Hebrew name was Avraham. He attended Hebrew School at Marev Temple in Encino and advanced to Portola Jr. High School and then Taft High School, graduating in the mid-1970s. Tony was the epitome of the California Surfer Dude, driving around in his powder-blue VW van. He loved finding off-the-beaten-path adventures in the California wilderness.

At the age of 17, Tony married his first wife, Julie, and soon started a family with his two daughters. After they divorced he found his way to Lake Tahoe.

Tony’s second life truly began when he met his future soulmate Brooke Luckey at a Lake Tahoe bar as she celebrated rescuing her runaway dog from doggie jail (aka The Pound). Tony and Brooke were inseparable from the moment they met. They often described the moment they first saw one another as kismet. He brought her a drink (thinking she was a completely different person) and that case of mistaken identity would change both of their lives instantaneously. He did receive a little bit of culture shock; however, when he discovered he was suddenly entering into a ready-made family…complete with two kids, a dog, a cat, two parakeets, and a mouse named Puddles!

Tony had several careers throughout his life, he studied agriculture and worked on his family farm, cultivating avocados and garbanzo beans (he hated garbanzo beans for the rest of his life—but also developed a strong love of growing his own personal gardens). He was a commercial painter, loved working with his hands, and could fix absolutely anything.

By the late 1990s, Tony started his own business in Gardnerville, Nevada as a local handyman. In this role, Tony quickly became integral to the community. No job was too small. Dinners would be interrupted by desperate calls to rescue wayward bats or fix ailing light fixtures. During one call, Tony took it upon himself to put out an unattended fire—immediately earning him an invitation to join the East Fork District 7 Volunteer Fire Department. Thus began Tony’s “Short-Hair Period”…where he began cooking massive meals for the firehouse and slept under firetruck wheels between shifts combatting massive forest fires. Everywhere Tony went—he quickly embedded himself in his community.

Tony’s love of cooking transcended beyond community service at the firehouse. He was known far and wide as a phenomenal chef and the accolades for his homemade beef jerky soon kickstarted his next career as the front man to Tahoe Tony’s Jammin’ Jerky. Tony worked long hours before dawn preparing daily batches of beef jerky and his banana-yellow delivery van could be seen all over Nevada’s Carson Valley.

By 2018, Tony’s step-daughter had her first child and Brooke eagerly packed Tony up with the household furniture…uprooting this stubborn man to Valrico, FL to begin his new role as a grandparent. Little did he know his second great love was awaiting him there.

Tony’s youngest granddaughter Aurelia was born with significant and highly complicated health concerns—but none of that frightened him. The two quickly forged a deep relationship which completely changed Tony’s outlook on the world. This once taciturn man eagerly danced in a giant inflatable dinosaur costume…with a tutu…in Florida…in the height of summer…all to see Aurelia smile.

In Florida, Tony restarted his community handyman business from scratch, building a rapport with his clients that is unmatched in today’s world. Countless times he would come home from a job with special treats or stories, gifted to him by his clients. He was honored to brighten each person’s day. Tony often told Brooke, “I LOVE my clients”!

Tony loved life. He blasted music (was a dedicated Parrot Head), played the drums, collected du-rags and cigar boxes, obsessed over weather forecasts, memorized EVERY episode of Ancient Aliens, and became a bonafide social media cooking guru.

The man hated shoes.

A celebration of life is planned for Sunday, February 26th from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 10200 Elbow Bend Rd., Riverview, FL, 33578. If you are interested in attending virtually, please reach out to Lucaya Barlow at 352-586-2330.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, February 1st at 352-586-2330.

A GiveSendGo.com fundraiser has been established to help the family with final memorial expenses under Tony Pearl’s name.

Tony’s family would like to embrace you all and hope to share this special day of remembrance.