Ferdinand A. (Fred "Junior") Tonarelli, 77, passed away peacefully in his sleep at Southwestern Nursing Center, Pleasant Hills, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, after a year-long illness. A son of the late Ferdinand and Clara Traversari Tonarelli, he was born in Dunlevy on July 29, 1937. He was a member of St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church, the Washington Township Fire Department, where he served as chaplain and a 2nd lieutenant, the former Garibaldi Club in Dunlevy and the Washington Township Senior Center on the Hill, where he was on the board of directors. A resident of Belle Vernon most of his adult life, Fred served in the U.S. Army reserves and worked as a clothing cutter for several local businesses, including Charland, and also had been employed at the former Volkswagen Plant in New Stanton, and retired in 2012 from Caterpillar. Survivors include his loving wife of 53 years, Marie Tomalski Tonarelli; five children and 10 grandchildren including son, Riccardo Tonarelli of Elizabeth and grandson, Gregory; daughter, Rosemarie Jennewine of Belle Vernon and grandchildren, Marie and husband Neil Paris, Michael, Mikayla and Mitchell; son, Dennis Tonarelli of Belle Vernon; son, Edward Tonarelli and wife, Jodi, of North Hills and granddaughters, Madison and Bethany; daughter, Valerie and husband, David Fowler, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and grandchildren, Eva, Julia and Andrew. Also surviving are an aunt, Sive Traversari; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Patricia Sciore, Dorothy Ramsier, Ralph and Marcella Niccolai, Sam and Annette Suppa, Tom and Debbie Tomalski and Shirley Tonarelli, as well as, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by four brothers; Ronald, Alfao, Leonard and Albert and a son-in-law, Michael Jennewine. Friends will be received 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday in the FERGUSON FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY INC., 724-929-5300, 700 Broad Ave., Belle Vernon, http://www.FergusonFuneralHomeAndCrematory.com. A blessing service will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the funeral home followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church with the Rev. Msgr Roger A. Statnick as celebrant. Interment will follow in Belle Vernon Cemetery. The rosary will be prayed at 3 p.m. Sunday in the funeral home led by members of St. Sebastian Parish.
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