Anthony L. "Toni" Priest

1927 - 2020

Anthony "Toni" L. Priest

Phoenix - Anthony "Toni" L. Priest, 91 of Phoenix, Arizona passed away June 4, 2019 at his home. Toni was born September 1, 1927 to William "Bill" Wallace and Florence Loyola (Johnson) Priest in Phoenix, Arizona. He lived his entire life in Phoenix.

Toni attended Adams elementary school and Phoenix Union high school, graduating in 1946. Toni served in the United States Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and was honorably discharged in 1947 due to an injury. Toni had a love for motorcycles, building his own and even setting local speed records. He took many cross country motorcycle trips whenever he could, sleeping by the roadside when necessary. Many of his cycling adventures were made with his cousin Abbott who also shared Toni's love for bikes. In between his travels, Toni went on to do numerous jobs in town including a repo man and working for the Coca Cola Company. After a few years, Toni settled on a career with the Phoenix Fire Department following in the footsteps of his father. It was during this period of his life that Toni met (thanks to his sister) the woman that stole his heart, a gorgeous redhead named Jyneva "Neva" Irene Newman. After dating several years, they married on November 20, 1953 welcoming two children during their marriage of 59 years. Toni moved up through the ranks of the fire department and in 1980 after 30 years, he retired as a Captain, just as his father had.

Toni was preceded in death by his wife, Neva Priest, his parents, Florence and Bill Priest. He is survived by his children; daughter, Julie Apodaca (Ron), son, Chris Priest, grandchildren; Chad, Breann (Nat), J'Lauren, Jameson, great-grandchildren; Cameron, Brody, Zackary, sister Gwen Farmer, nephews; Mark (Penny), Bruce (Pamala) and Brady (Tammy), as well as many great nieces and nephews.

After he retired, Toni had plenty of time to pursue some of his many interests and hobbies full time, such as building and restoring cars especially Volkswagens, Toni loved pranks and a good laugh both in real life and on TV. His favorite comedians were Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton and The Three Stooges. He also truly enjoyed swap meets and collecting an array of items. He was self taught when it came to anything electrical, whether it was rewiring or rebuilding he could do it all. If Toni had a need for something, rather than buying it, he would make a plan and just build it, often resulting in him creating many of his own inventions. He was an avid hunter (often taking 2 week hunting trips) passing his years of knowledge and enjoyment of the sport down to his son and grandson.

Toni was blessed to have had a long, healthy life and often said he had no regrets. During his last year, though his will was strong, his body was not, he had great doctors, home health caretakers and therapists to make his days more comfortable. He was known to friends and family as an all around good guy, always willing to lend a hand, easy to laugh, strong as he was stubborn and there when he was needed. As the family marks the one year anniversary of Toni's passing, we have come to accept the loss of our patriarch, our rock, the one person who, no matter what life dealt us, was always there with his wisdom, comfort and a dose of humor. We miss him everyday, but know he will forever live in our hearts and our memories. We are thankful for the time we had with him here on earth and comforted knowing he is now at peace. As per Toni's wishes he was cremated. A celebration of his life will be held at a future date, if interested in information email: Priestfam91@gmail.com.

If you wish to contribute in Toni's memory please consider: 100 Club of Arizona, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association.

Special love to Vickie, Beverly and Shannon