Tragic Loss: South Carolina Couple Killed by Falling Tree During Hurricane Helene

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Written By Richard Perdomo

As Hurricane Helene raged outside, with winds howling and branches snapping, John Savage went to check on his grandparents to make sure they were safe.

We heard a branch snap, so I went back to their room to see if they were okay, the 22-year-old recalled. His grandparents, Marcia, 74, and Jerry, 78, were lying in bed with their dog, all unharmed at the time.

But soon after, John and his father heard a loud boom — the sound of one of the largest trees on the property in Beech Island, South Carolina, crashing onto his grandparents’ bedroom, killing them.

All we could see was the ceiling and a tree, John said. I was in sheer panic.

He later learned his grandparents were found embracing each other. The family believes it was fate that they passed away together, sparing either from living without the other.

When they pulled them from the wreckage, we think Grandpa heard the tree snapping and tried to shield Grandma, John explained.

They were among more than 180 lives lost in one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history. At least 186 deaths had been confirmed by Thursday morning, according to CBS News, with many, like the Savages, killed by falling trees. Among the victims were two South Carolina firefighters who died when a tree fell on their truck. President Biden visited the Carolinas for an aerial tour of the storm’s widespread destruction.

Hurricane Helene tore through several states, flooding homes, triggering mudslides, and cutting off cell service.

They loved each other until their last breath
Jerry Savage, a handyman by trade, worked mainly as an electrician and carpenter. Even after retiring, he often returned to work when boredom set in, John said. His daughter, Tammy Estep, 54, described him as a doer and the hardest worker she knew.

Marcia Savage was a retired bank teller, deeply involved in her church, and known for her beautiful singing voice, especially her love for gospel music. Her granddaughter, Katherine Savage, 27, shared that she also enjoyed cooking for her family, especially her signature Thanksgiving turkey and banana pudding.

On social media, friends and family posted tributes remembering the couple as kind, generous, and humble.

John and Katherine had spent much of their childhood in a trailer behind their grandparents’ home. In recent years, John and his father had been living with them. Despite the community being hit by previous storms, nothing like this had ever happened before, John said.

For decades, the Savage home was a gathering place for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter celebrations, with family filling the house and yard.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help cover funeral expenses. The couple is survived by their son and daughter, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

How to support Hurricane Helene survivors
Katherine shared that her grandparents, especially Marcia, were a constant presence in her life, helping care for her three sons, whom they saw nearly every day.

“I haven’t even told my boys yet,she said. “We just don’t know how.

The couple had been teenage sweethearts and married for over 50 years. Their daughter, Tammy, described their love as immediate and everlasting.

 

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