Tonie's Fund: Honoring Legacy Through Purpose and Remembrance
Dear Five Alarm Charm Family,
As we continue our month of remembrance, we wanted to take a moment to highlight an organization that deeply touched us when we met Mark Gentile, Executive Director of Tonie’s Fund, last year at the EMS & Fire Pro Conference in Connecticut.
Tonie’s Fund is a nonprofit organization founded by Mark after losing his wife of 27 years, Tonie, to breast cancer in February 2023.
What makes this nonprofit so powerful is how personal its mission truly is. Through unimaginable loss, Mark chose to turn grief into purpose, creating a foundation focused on early detection breast cancer awareness, providing resources and education, and offering scholarships for students pursuing careers in the medical field and first response.
In telling Tonie’s story, Mark wrote:
“Unfortunately, the fear of Breast Cancer keeps many patients from admitting they have a problem until it is too late. That was my wife, Tonie. Even after being married for 27 years, there were still things that scared her so much she would not talk to me about them.”
“I have spent my life working as a Firefighter and in EMS, and I did not even see the clues she had left in the things she would say or do. I cannot tell you how many people I have helped save in my career. Ultimately, I could not save the one person who meant the most to me.”
One part of Tonie’s story that especially resonated with us was the fire service tradition Mark describes — the reading of names each Memorial Day so those we have lost are never forgotten. He shared a quote often attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “Everyone has two deaths. When they are buried in the ground and the last time someone says their name.”
Tonie’s Fund is about making sure Tonie’s name, story, and impact continue to live on while helping others in the process.
Mark also writes about continuing to honor Tonie through music and community. After her passing, he found playlists Tonie had created and describes how music became a lasting connection to the memories they shared. That love inspired “Tonie’s Country Roads Concert to College Tour” — fundraising concerts supporting the mission of the foundation while celebrating something Tonie loved deeply.
This past April, we had the privilege of adding to their collection by creating custom cufflinks and a tie pin inspired by their design to be worn at a gala they were attending. It meant so much to us to help bring another element of Tonie’s story to life — something that could be worn proudly while representing the heart behind the organization.
One of the greatest honors in what we do is meeting the people behind these stories. To witness how remembrance, love, and legacy can be transformed into something that continues helping others is something we never take lightly.
We are grateful to Mark and Tonie's Fund for allowing us to be a small part of honoring Tonie's memory and helping carry her story forward. Mark also shared these photos of Tonie and their son, Tanner: one on their boat in Connecticut, where they live; another at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and a final photo of Tonie pinning Mark's Deputy Chief badge on him in 2013.
If you’d like to learn more about the nonprofit, support their mission, sponsor events, attend the concert series, or apply for Tonie’s Fund scholarships, you can visit:
With heartfelt gratitude,Stacey, Zach, Chloe, Heather & The Five Alarm Charm Team
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