A GRANDFATHER held his wife close as a massive tree crashed down under Hurricane Helene’s oppressive winds and killed them both, his heartbroken grandson has said.
Jerry Savage, 78, tried to shield his 74-year-old wife Marcia’s body from the fatal winds in a heartwrenching final act of bravery.
Jerry and Marcia Savage were killed by a tree that crashed through their bedroom as Hurricane Helene raged outside[/caption]
A tree is seen collapsed on a street in South Carolina, where the couple was killed[/caption]
Marine One carrying President Joe Biden flew to North and South Carolina, where the storm damage left communities in pieces[/caption]
As the storm raged through Beech Island, South Carolina, an hour southwest of Columbia, John Savage jumped after hearing branches snap.
He went to the back bedroom of his home to check on his grandparents and was relieved to find them and the dog safe.
But just moments later, John felt a massive crash and made the horrific discovery that the largest tree next to their property had smashed into his grandparents’ bedroom.
“All you could see was ceiling and tree,” he told the Associated Press.
“I was just going through sheer panic at that point.”
Jerry and Marcia were killed instantly by the crash and were holding each other close when the tree slammed down on their bed.
John said Jerry appeared to have tried to shield his wife with his body after hearing the tree snap outside.
Friends and family of the Savages are clinging to their faith in the wake of the tragedy and believe it was God’s plan they died together instead of living without one another.
At least 200 people have died from the wreckage brought on by Hurricane Helene, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US since Katrina eviscerated New Orleans in 2005.
At its peak, Helene strengthened to a Category 4 storm and blazed through the Southeastern US with winds reaching 140 miles per hour.
Millions in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina were left without power, and some towns, like Asheville, North Carolina, were completely drowned by sheets of rain.
Dozens of the victims killed by the hurricane were fatally struck by fallen trees, including first responders and innocent civilians hiding in their homes.
Nearly one week after the storm blew through, one million people were still without power and cell service, leaving some residents passing notes to neighbors to communicate.
Mules are being used to deliver necessary supplies, and survivors are relying on camp stoves and water from creeks to cook their meals.
“I didn’t know where I was going, didn’t know what was going to happen next. But I got out and I’m alive,” Asheville resident Robin Wynn said.
Georgia State Defense Force and US Army soldiers clear the roads in Augusta[/caption]
Chimney Rock, North Carolina, is unrecognizable after Helene flooded the town[/caption]
‘THEY LOVED EACH OTHER’
Jerry and Marcia are remembered as a hard-working pair who are staples in their church communities.
Jerry worked as an electrician and carpenter and tried to retire but kept going back to work because “he’d get that spirit back in him to go back out,” John said.
Marcia was a retired bank teller and music lover who was always singing gospel in the kitchen, where she made delicious Thanksgiving meals and her signature banana pudding.
Katherine Savage, another grandchild of the couple, said Marcia helped take care of her three sons. Now, she doesn’t know how she’ll go on without her.
“I haven’t even told my boys yet because we don’t know how,” she said.
Jerry and Marcia were high school sweethearts and had been married for over 50 years at the time of their deaths.
“They loved each other to their dying day,” John said.
President Joe Biden flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, to announce the federal government would be funding rehabilitation efforts for the next six months.
“Our job is to help as many people as we can as quickly as we can and as thoroughly as we can,” he told a crowd during his visit.
