The widow of Hawaiian lifeguard and actor Tamayo Perry spoke out about her husband’s death after he was attacked and killed by a shark.
Tamayo Perry, 49, a City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard, died Sunday after being bitten by a shark near Goat Island.
“I feel so upset and devastated, but I also have a weird calmness in my heart knowing that he’s in a better place,” Emilia Perry said in an interview with “Good Morning America” that aired on Wednesday. “It was like I went on the best 25-year vacation of my life with him, and now it’s over.”
The 49-year-old was a professional surfer and an actor who appeared in the movies “Blue Crush” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” and in an episode of “Hawaii Five-0.”
HAWAII LIFEGUARD KILLED IN SHARK ATTACK AFTER SURFING: ‘A TRAGIC LOSS’
Tamayo Perry of Hawaii in action during round three of the Billabong Pro trials May 4, 2003, at Teahupoo, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Steve Robertson/ Getty Images)
Emilia’s belief that her husband is in a better place comes from his devout Christian faith, she said.
Even before he died, Tamayo reportedly texted his family, “I can’t wait to meet the king. I’m excited, not scared. We got to pray and forgive and love.”
Emilia told the station her husband stood for “how to be a better human.”
“To love everybody when you have them, ‘cause you never know when they’re gonna be taken away,” she said.
Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city’s fire, police and emergency medical services departments responded shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday to Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu’s North Shore following a report that a man appeared to have suffered shark bites, Honolulu Emergency Services Department’s Shayne Enright told The Associated Press.
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Lifeguards used jet skis to pull Perry to shore, where paramedics made the death pronouncement, Enright said.
After the shark attack, Ocean Safety personnel posted shark warnings in the area.
Perry began his career with the Ocean Safety department in July 2016.
Honolulu Ocean Safety Acting Chief Kurt Lager described Perry as a lifeguard “loved by all.”
Perry, 49, was a highly respected and “legendary waterman,” according to Honolulu’s mayor. (Facebook/Tamayo Perry )
“He’s well known on the North Shore,” Lager said during a news conference. “He’s a professional surfer known worldwide. Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more.”
Just two days after Tamayo’s death, ABC News reported, another “aggressive” shark was spotted near Oahu.
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Jesse King, a friend and coworker of Perry’s, told ABC that despite his friend’s fate, he would likely tell other surfers to continue surfing.
“For people that are surfers and avid ocean users, we do it because we love it,” King told the network.
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Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and Stephen Sorace, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.