Steven A Whitlock

It is with great sadness; we share the death of Steven A Whitlock. After a long fight with cancer, he passed away peacefully on April 18th with good friends at his side. Many thanks to all who cared for him at West Penn's E8 unit. They made his last several days as comfortable as possible and assisted several with seeing and talking with him for one last time.
Steve was born June 5, 1953 in Richlands, Virginia to Gara Mae Burkhalter. He was later adopted by his birth Mother's best friend, Lucy Whitlock and her husband, Fulton. He was raised as their only child in Allison, a small community south of Brownsville, PA.
Steve is survived by close friend, Lois Manley of Pacheco, CA and by several recently re­ acquainted family members including brother, Michael Lisman of Cleveland, Ohio. Steve will also be missed by an untold number of good friends. Even though he never had children of his own, his legacy should be considered all the friends he has made over the years. Steve was a People-Person. He touched lives and made friends everywhere he went. He also had a knack for bringing people together and assisting them in forging lasting friendships and/or relationships that will endure for years to come.
For as much as Steve was a people person, he was also someone who took great pride in helping others. His biggest achievement in that area was his career as a City of Pittsburgh Paramedic and ultimately a Motorcycle Paramedic. He loved helping the various people he got to meet during that time in his life. He also excelled in assisting others to see the benefit and wisdom of his ideas. With his love of motorcycles, he thought the idea of a Motorcycle Paramedic would be a great addition to the Paramedic program that was up and running in the city. Ultimately, he bent many ears and encouraged enough other people to see the benefits such a program could offer. The idea was ultimately considered and finally put into motion. Of course, Steve was one of the first to sign up to become a Motorcycle Medic.
When his time with the Paramedics came to an abrupt end he was frustrated and missed meeting people and being around others and feeling needed. He then decided to get a part time job and became a cashier at Lowe's. He also began his last big endeavor-starting the Metro FDRU-Fire Department Rehab Unit. He had long known Firefighter Rehab was a big need that had for a very long time been and continued to be ignored or overlooked by most Fire Departments. He wanted to help out his brothers and sisters who fought fires so he developed his business plan and built the FDRU. In building this, he found better friends who were of like minds providing him with even more friends to meet.
The last big thing Steve decided to branch out into was to get a fire truck he could drive in parades. He ended up with 2 because for him 1 of something was never enough. Lord only knows how many parades he participated in. Another part of his joy in the last several years was doing Drive-by birthday parades for various people during the Covid years. He especially loved seeing all of the faces light up when he drove past in the fire truck. Here's to hoping there will be fire trucks and parades he can drive in in heaven.