CARRSVILLE
Anthony Edward “Tony” Longoria was remembered by family and friends this weekend for many things. Not the least of which was being “a great daddy” and “a diehard Redskins fan.”

Better known to many in Western Tidewater and beyond as “DJ ToeKnee,” the 38-year-old entertainer had died on Oct. 9 after an automobile accident on I-64 east of Military Highway in Chesapeake. The Virginia State Police reported that in the early morning hours, a tractor trailer had stopped in the right lane because of a tree that had fallen into the road, blocking traffic. Longoria had run into the back of that vehicle. He later succumbed in a hospital because of his injuries.

Brooke Longoria, his wife, said he had done a wedding earlier (“DJ-ing was his thing”) and had evidently decided to return home rather than stopping at a motel.

Sitting in the den of their home, she recalled that the troopers had come to the door and gave her the sad news.

“I was in shock … denial … I kept asking if they were sure it was him,” Brooke said, adding that before their arrival, she had called and called, but wasn’t getting any answers from him.

For her part, Brooke said the couple met when they were in line at a 7-11 about 10 years ago. She was buying coffee when he started talking to her, but she was too shy then to answer.

By coincidence, they saw each other again that day when he and coworkers came to the DQ where she was working.

This time he put down his name and number on a piece of paper with instructions to call him.

She laughed in remembering about waiting to call Tony that night.

“I didn’t want the opportunity to pass me by,” said Brook, adding, “We were engaged for a long time.”

Not until July 4, 2013 — when they were in a 7-11 — did they start to consider having a wedding.

“We were practically married already,” she said; the ceremony took place in 2014. To mark the occasion of their first meeting, Slurpy cups were used to hold beverages.

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With her before the visitation were her parents and children.

“He was a great son-in-law. He took care of them [wife and children],” said his father-in-law, Thomas Moxley, who was there with his wife, Michelle, to lend emotional support to their daughter and grandchildren.

Tristan, 6, remembers his dad with this simple memory:

“He taught me to play soccer,” said the boy, who plays on a YMCA-sponsored team.

Cameron, 15, said that occasionally he got to help his father with his DJ-ing.

“He was going to teach me,” said the boy, who also recalled, “Every time he said he couldn’t make it a soccer game, he would show up.”

Like his dad who graduated from Windsor High School in 1996, Cameron also attends that school. He added that his father would sometimes joke, calling him “Prep,” short for preppy, which is how he dressed.

Because Tony worked nights, he was usually home for the children, said Brooke, who added that he let Sophia get away with a lot.

Sophia, 4, said, “I liked to play with him.”

Tea parties were reportedly part of that fun.

In addition to family, the U.S. and military were quite important to Tony; he had served in the Marines for eight years.

Appropriately, military rites were included in the funeral, which was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Wright Funeral Home, Franklin.