Ulana Sanocka, MD, age 80, beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.

Born in Berlin, Germany, Ulana came to the United States at the age of two, settling with her family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She was raised in Brooklyn and developed a lifelong love for New York City, particularly Brooklyn and Manhattan.

After graduating from high school, Ulana attended Brooklyn College before earning her medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. Following medical school, she met Allan Furtek through a mutual friend. The two fell in love and were married in Brooklyn; then made Manhattan their first home together. In the early 1980s, Ulana and Allan moved to Warren, New Jersey, where they raised their family.

Above all, Ulana was a dedicated physician. Medicine was not simply her profession; it was the defining work of her life and an inseparable part of who she was. An immigrant who, through resilience and perseverance, built an extraordinary life and career, Ulana devoted more than 35 years to the practice of neonatology at Columbia University, caring for countless babies and their families. Being a neonatologist was not simply what she did; it was who she was to her core.

While living in Warren, Ulana was a longtime member of Blessed Sacrament Church in Martinsville. Outside of medicine, she had a great love of cooking and food. A true foodie, she enjoyed preparing meals, discovering restaurants, dining out, and watching cooking shows and the Food Network.

Beyond her remarkable career, Ulana was deeply connected to her family and leaves behind generations of people who loved her.

She is survived by her devoted husband, Allan Furtek; her daughter, Christina Hanley, and Christina’s husband, Sean; her sister, Oksana Lew; and her nieces and their families: Khristina Lew and her husband, Adrian Gawdiak, and their son, Greg Gawdiak; Olesia Lew and her husband, Pete Hausler, and their daughters, Zuli and Slava Hausler; Ruta Lew and her husband, Yarko Dobryanski, and their sons, Wasyl and Kashtan; and Maya Lew and her husband, Donny McCarthy.

Ulana’s life was one of remarkable accomplishment, perseverance, and service, and she leaves behind a legacy measured not simply in professional achievements, but in lives: the countless tiny lives she helped care for and the families who entrusted their children to her.

Dr. Ulana Sanocka will be deeply missed and forever remembered by her family, friends, colleagues, and the many people whose lives were touched by her care.

Visitation will be held on Monday, August 24, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung, NJ 07069.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Church, 1890 Washington Valley Road, Martinsville, NJ 08836.

Interment will follow at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery, 280 Main Street, South Bound Brook, NJ 08880.