Action 3 News - Omaha, Nebraska News, Weather, and Sports | Omaha Man Dies on Honeymoon
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Omaha, NE -- It's every newlywed's dream to take a honeymoon. Unfortunately for one couple, that dream quickly became a nightmare.
For Sean Palma, nothing came easy. He won battles with addiction and crime to finally meet the girl of his dreams. Their June marriage went perfectly, but tragically, the life Sean imagined will never be.
"He had it going for him. It's just so cruel for this to happen for his boys, for his wife, for his sisters, for me. This is too hard," says his mother, Fancine Palma.
Sean Palma died snorkeling off the coast of Rivera de Maya.
"When they said he died in Mexico, I just couldn't believe it."
Doctors blame a heart attack. Family says Sean's bride heather does little more than cry.
"You are never supposed to bury your children."
Sean's life was anything but easy. He spent four years in prison for check fraud and fought addiction.
"He would help anyone try to get straight and he'd been straight for almost 10 years now."
"I was in prison for four years so I identified with him quite a bit and he was an inspiration to me," says Roy Pourchez, a friend and co-worker.
His friends at work remember Sean as the upbeat optimist.
"Living the dream. That was his thing. He'd be like, living the dream and they'd laugh and he'd laugh but in his world, he was living the dream."
His dream to marry Heather became a reality. Even if their life together lasted only three weeks, friends and family know it was the best three weeks of his life.
"He died happy. You know and that is what's everybody, that's the one little bit of solace we all take is he died the happiest he'd ever been in his life according to him," says Pourchez.
"He was just so happy. He married the girl of his dreams," says Palma.
Heather is arrived in Omaha Monday night with Sean's cremated remains. She refused to leave Mexico without him, and it's the only way she could afford to bring him home.
Besides his wife, Sean leaves behind three children and three grandchildren.
Reported by: Dave Roberts, dgroberts@action3news.com
