For 25 years, Tony Kelly’s voice has been broadcast to local radios, but, after his unexpected death Tuesday, those who worked closely with him remembered him most as a funny, caring man who loved his daughters above all else.

Kelly, who was 53 years old at the time of his death, was better known to listeners of Froggy 98.1 as Pete Moss – an alias he used while on air for the country music station.

“He made a lot of friends doing broadcasts on location. … He was just an easy guy to talk to,” said Jim Wisor, Froggy’s program director.

Wisor said he knew Kelly for about three years.

“In that short time, I came to know him as a great guy,” Wisor said. “He was just pretty much one of the guys, just a good-old-boy type.”

Backing that claim, Tommy Edwards – program director of sister station 104.9 – said Kelly was also known to as a prankster.

“He liked to get you going with practical jokes,” Edwards said, explaining that humor also was sometimes directed toward listeners. “He was just himself on the air.”

Rob Wentz – better known as Rob Z of the Hot 100 station – had another lighthearted story to tell about his late colleague.

“He was a bottomless pit of food,” Wentz said, with others making similar comments. “He could eat like none other, and he never gained any weight.”

Wentz said Kelly also provided constructive criticism and advice to younger co-workers.

“In the building, he’ll be missed tremendously,” Wentz said.

Kelly celebrated 25 years with Forever Media last week, said Bobbi Castellucci, Forever Media’s Altoona-based general manager.

“We’re still in shock,” she said of his death. “We worked with him day after day for many years.

“He was a wonderful person. … He made somebody laugh every single day.”

Kelly’s large fanbase was evident from the outpouring of support he got on social media websites.

“I’m going to miss so much listening to you in the afternoons and talking to you,” Facebook user Mechele Bordas Robinson said.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to his (two) daughters and his family,” another user, Tina Conaway Oshall, said. “Tony was such a wonderful man and an even better dad.”

Off the air, however, Kelly likely will be remembered most for his caring personality, Edwards said.

“He was a great friend, a great person,” Edwards said. “And he sincerely had a great love for his two daughters.”

Castellucci also talked about Kelly’s relationship with his daughters.

“Last year, he took his girls to a One Direction concert,” she said, referring to a pop band. “He had no idea what he was getting himself into.”

Kelly was one of several prominent Forever Broadcasting employees to die in the past several years. Castellucci said replacing those stalwarts is difficult.

“We are all very close here,” she said. “It’s like losing a part of your family.”

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.