FARMINGTON -- Hundreds of teary-eyed uniformed emergency workers paid tribute Thursday to one of their own who was killed in the line of duty.

Mourners crowded into the Starbird Building at the Farmington Fairgrounds for the funeral of Allan Parsons, a paramedic killed in a crash in Turner last week while treating a patient in an ambulance.

Speaker after speaker recalled Parsons, who lived in Wilton, as a wonderful father, son, brother, friend and colleague.

"My dad was a good man," Adam Parsons said of his father, with whom he said he enjoyed fishing, hunting, four-wheeling, biking and other good times.

Don Davenport, a pastor of the Prince of Peace church in Augusta, finished reading Adam Parsons' remarks:

"I miss my dad a lot," he said. "He was the best dad anyone could ever have."

Allan Parsons was an emergency medical technician for Med-Care Ambulance Service. He was in the back of a Med-Care ambulance on July 5, when around 3 a.m., a truck driven by Christopher Boutin, 29, of Turner crossed Route 4 in front of the emergency vehicle, according to police.

The ambulance had its emergency lights on at the time and was en route from Rumford to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Parsons was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We have lost one of our own," Dean Milligan, director of operations for Med-Care, said Thursday.

Milligan said it wasn't the pay that encouraged Parsons to put on his uniform and go to work.

"It was the quiet pride of making a difference and saving lives," Milligan said.

Before working for Med-Care, Parsons worked for Monmouth Rescue and United Ambulance. He attended the Tri-County Emergency Medical Services Program for paramedic education after graduating from high school.

Milligan said being an EMT isn't an easy job.

"It is a calling that only we understand," Milligan said. "That Allan understood."

Parsons was a person always looking to help others, rarely asking for something in return, Davenport said.

"Most of the moments of his life were spent caring for others," he said.

Parsons was not only dedicated to his work, but also to his family, his daughter recalled.

"Not only was he my dad, but he was my best friend," said Amy Parsons.

She said she will remember her father's more humorous side.

A sentiment echoed by many speakers was his knack for pulling pranks.

"I'll never forget my Dad's laugh; it was contagious," said Amy Parsons. "My dad loved to make people laugh."

Fellow EMTs, firefighters and police officers from all over the state came to pay their respects to Parsons Thursday.

According to Davenport, in the past 15 years five EMTs have been killed on the job in Maine; Parsons was the sixth.

Amy Parsons said that, whenever she had a bad day, her father would tell her, "Cheer up, smile and have a better day tomorrow."

"That's what I'll do," said Amy Parsons.

Staff writer David Leaming contributed to this report.