Hodgenville man dies after collapsing at amusement park

A Hodgenville man died Aug. 31, 2008, after becoming ill at an amusement park.

Sean Gearon, 45, was spending the day with his family in Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind., according to Dubois County Chief Deputy Coroner Bob Veatch.

Gearon collapsed while standing in line for a ride that evening. Park employees resuscitated him using a portable AED (Automated External Defibrillator) device, Veatch said. He was also resuscitated by Spencer County paramedics in the ambulance as he was being transported to Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Ind. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

An autopsy was performed Monday in Evansville, Ind. It revealed that Gearon died of a massive heart attack, Veatch said. There were also signs of severe arteriosclerosis or disease of the blood arteries.

The temperature was about 90 degrees that day, but Veatch said he didn’t think it played a part in Gearon’s death.

Gearon was a member of the Local Planning Committee for the school district and had been a member of the Abraham Lincoln Elementary and Magnolia Elementary schools’ site-based councils for several years. He was a “big advocate of academic and school programs,” according to ALES administrative manager Kathy Ross.

“He was passionate about academics,” Ross said. “He will be sorely missed.”

Ross said the school is looking for ways to honor Gearon’s service – possibly by renaming the conference room, hanging a plaque or developing an academic scholarship for Camp Invention.

The funeral is Thursday at Bennett-Bertram Funeral Home.