SUNSET BEACH, Hawaii (KHON2) — A celebration of life for Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard Tamayo Perry will be held on Sunday, July 14, on Oahu’s North Shore.
The event will take place near Ehukai Beach Park around 3 p.m.
Perry, was tragically killed after being attacked by a shark while on duty, at one of his favorite surfing spots during his lunch break three weeks ago.
The event prompting the City and County of Honolulu to put out a traffic advisory for the area.
“I’ve been told [attendance] it’s going to be between the Eddie Aikau [Big Wave Contest] and a Pipe Masters [contest],” said Emilia Perry, Tamayo’s wife. “He just wanted everyone to know about Jesus and that he’s in heaven and in the most beautiful place anyone can imagine.”
Thousands of people loved Perry from across the globe.
On Saturday, friends were making lei for the event with the hundreds of flowers donated by the North Shore community.
The City and County of Honolulu has advised motorists to expect heavy traffic near Ehukai Beach Park and parking will be extremely limited. No parking will be allowed to the public at either Ehukai Beach park or Sunset Beach Elementary.
Event organizers suggest carpooling, taking public transit or riding a bicycle to the event.
The ceremony will begin at Sunset Beach Neighborhood Park followed by a traditional paddle out ceremony across the street at Pipeline.
Perry’s family asks no drones fly at all during the service at both parks. The Honolulu Dire Department will do a flower drop with a helicopter and for that to occur, no drones can be near the ceremony.
Hawaiian Water Patrol will join City and County lifeguards to provide water safety. Please
ensure you know how to swim if you are planning to take a surfboard or any type of flotation
device into the ocean for this portion of the ceremony.
“It’s going to be a beautiful ceremony celebrating his life, there are lots of people involved who have gone above and beyond with helping me with this and I’m so grateful,” Emilia said.
Many of his closest friends and co-workers already dyed their hair like Tamayo’s leopard print.
Shirts will also be available for sale to help pay for the event.