Jerry and Marcia Savage perished clutching one other tightly as Hurricane Helene crushed them in their bed on Beech Island, South Carolina, late last week, according to their daughter. “My daddy died a hero because he was trying to save my mom,” Tammy Estep says. “In their final moment, that’s how they went in tandem: hugging, loving each other until that last second of their life,” Estep, 54, said.
Jerry, 78, and Savage, 74, were high school sweethearts who met at Harriet Tubman High in Augusta, Georgia, and married in 1966. The pair had the same birthday, January 26, and died on the same day. Both were buried on Saturday afternoon, October 5. “They just couldn’t be without each other,” Estep explains.
Marcia questioned if she was prepared for the storm and advised her to keep an eye out. The hurricane slammed Beech Island, just across the state line from Augusta, around 4 a.m. on Friday, September 27. “It was surreal. And the more that went on, the worse it became,” adds Estep. ” According to the family, a roughly 60-foot pine tree fell from the couple’s one-story home and slammed into their bedroom, landing on Marcia’s side of the bed. The death toll from Hurricane Helene has continued to rise in the week since it wreaked havoc across six Southeast states. More than 220 people have been slain, according to officials and news reports.
Estep remembers her parents as doers: Her father was an electrician who retired several times but kept returning to work. He was handy — with bodywork or making furniture and cabinetry, and he enjoyed motorcycling. “He could build anything,” she explains. “He was an all-around nice person. “He was my buddy.”
She claims that her mother, a homemaker, was a committed churchgoer and member of the Second Baptist Church. “My mama was at that church every time the doors opened,” Estep remembers. “She was always present for us. “She was my best buddy. The couple were also passionate grandparents with four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. “They lived for family,” Estep explains. “They’re the kindest, sweetest people you’d ever want to meet.”
