Eric Uliana, 52, of Bangor, died Monday after a 36-year career of helping others.
Eric Snyder remembers riding with Eric Uliana about four years ago to a call involving motorists injured in a crash along Route 33 in Lower Nazareth Township.
The pair, then working for Hecktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, barely stopped the ambulance before Uliana sprang into action.
Uliana ran over to the patients waiting alongside the road and reassured them everything would be OK as he worked to treat their injuries, Snyder recalled.
"It was one of those calls that went very quickly, but Eric always knew what to do," said Snyder, of Allentown. "I remember seeing him calming down the patients. When we ran together, we never had to even talk to each other. We just knew what the other was thinking."
Uliana, of Bangor, was dedicated, loyal and put everyone in his life before himself, friends and co-workers recalled Monday. In his 36-year career, Uliana's work spanned several rescue squads across the Lehigh Valley and he often worked upward of 70 hours a week, friends said.
In the year before he received the grim diagnosis that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Uliana, an only child, was caring for his elderly mother and taking on additional duties while trying to make ends meet.
The 52-year-old lost his battle with the disease Monday, co-workers with Nazareth Ambulance Corps and Phillipsburg EMS announced on social media.
"Through tears, I must let you know that I just lost one of the greatest friends in my life," posted Carol Viglianti, an EMT who worked with Uliana at Nazareth Ambulance Corps. "He dedicated his life to helping and saving others without question. He always felt if he saved just one life, it was a job well done. Well, 30+ years and he did just that."
Viglianti went on to describe Uliana as her "light" when things went dark, and a confidante who would lend a shoulder to cry on or an ear when she needed someone just to simply listen.
"I will miss you and the way we used to chat," Viglianti said. "I love you brother. RIP. We'll take it from here."
Funeral services are pending.
'Man of honor, integrity'
Uliana began his career as a junior member of the former Liberty Ambulance in Bangor while attending Bangor Area High School. His 1981 high school yearbook states his future plans entailed becoming a full-time EMT.
He fulfilled the goal, working for Blue Valley Rescue, Valley Ambulance, Easton Emergency Squad, the former Teams EMS and the now-defunct Hecktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Up until his death, Uliana was employed with Nazareth Ambulance Corps and Phillipsburg EMS.
Uliana had an upbeat attitude even when things would go astray, said Daniel Gordon of Bath, a fellow EMT at Nazareth Ambulance Corps.
Gordon recalled a night when the pair had just picked up coffee from Dunkin' Donuts and headed back to the station. Uliana rested his coffee cup on the dash of the ambulance while he got out.
"The coffee falls from the dash, lands upside-down on the seat, doesn't spill, and bounces off the seat and explodes all over the floor of the truck," Gordon recalled. "Eric laughed and just said, 'I guess this is the kind of night we are about to have.'"
Gordon as a young EMT often sought out Uliana for advice as a mentor.
"He would be right there to talk to you," he said, adding that when he needed a laugh, Uliana would crack a joke.
"His sense of humor was right there to lift everyone's spirits back up," Gordon said. "He was a man of honor and integrity. He was the kind of person who would give the shirt off his back for anyone he knew."
"He was an all around nice guy; always positive, too," said Michael Matias-Monteleone, of Nazareth, who also worked with Uliana at Nazareth Ambulance Corps. "He will be missed."
After 36 years helping others, EMT needs help of his own
'Bigger than life'
In a March interview, Uliana said his passion in life was to help and interact with people in their time of need.
"I wanted to help people the best I knew how," Uliana had said.
Co-workers said he saw it all.
Uliana helped deliver newborn babies and assisted in saving lives. In February 2015, he was on a team that saved the life of a 54-year-old Nazareth man who went into cardiac arrest.
Catherine Semler, of Bethlehem, met Uliana when he worked for Hecktown and she volunteered for East Allen EMS. She said he had a knack for reading patients and could almost flip a switch and give them whatever they needed.
"He delivered whatever they needed emotionally right at that very moment," Semler said. "He was bigger than life. He always had an analogy; he always had a story. He always left you thinking."
Semler said it wasn't like Uliana to just say something; he said it because there was a reason behind it and it would mean something. Viglanti said she plans to share more of Uliana's story at his services.
"I made a promise to Eric when he was first diagnosed -- that I would write a story telling about his life," she said. "He was a great friend to everyone he met. He touched so many lives over the years. But I did not just lose a friend, I lost a brother."
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.