Stephen Edward Tonini

Steve was born on January 4, 1948 in Syracuse, NY to Sesto and Arlene Tonini. From there, the family moved to Huntsville, AL where Steve attended Huntsville High School. In October of 1968, Steve enlisted in the United States Navy where he served for three years as an electronics technician on the USS Chevalier based in San Diego, CA. He was honorably discharged in October 1971.

Using his electronics skills, Steve worked a long radio and television career. At the age of 18, his first radio job was at WAHR-FM in Huntsville where, in 1966, he was the first person on Huntsville radio to be live on-air overnight in the days where nearly every radio station signed off and powered down at the end of the day. In 1967, just prior to him joining the Navy, he worked at both WRSA-FM and WHRT-AM as a disc jockey. Upon his return from the Navy in 1971, Steve and his wife, Judy, settled in Gadsden, AL, where Steve continued his career with stints at WSGN-FM & WJBY-AM as Chief Engineer and on-air talent. In 1975, Steve moved his family to Meridian, MS, where he continued his radio and television pursuits with on and off air stints with WMBC in Columbus, MS and Mississippi Public Television. In 1978, Steve relocated to Petal, MS where he worked as Chief Engineer simultaneously for WBKH-AM, WHSY-AM/FM, and WLAU-AM. Finally, he worked Master Control for WDAM-TV7 in Laurel-Hattiesburg for 10 years before falling ill in 1991.

Steve is survived by his three sons, Chuck (Lynne) Tonini, Larry (Teresa) Tonini, and Ryan (Keisha Baxter) Tonini; his grandchildren, Corey, Caleb, Adriana, and Sofia Tonini; his step-grandchildren, Chelsea and Jonathon Tidwell; and his siblings, Vincent (Vicki) Tonini, Carol Tonini, and Robert (Rita) Tonini. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Sesto and Arlene Tonini.

Visitation will be held Thursday, March 31 at 11:00am followed by a service at 12:00pm at Valhalla Funeral Home, 698 Winchester Rd. NE, Huntsville, Alabama 35811. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Steve’s honor to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, P.O. Box 4527, New York, NY 10163. Please sign the guest registry at www.valhallafunerals.com.