An elderly couple were found together, locked in a last embrace in their bed after Hurricane Helene brought a tree crashing through their ceiling and killed them.
Jerry Savage, 78, and his wife Marcia, 74, were sheltering with their family in their Beech Island home in South Carolina as winds reaching 140mph circled outside.
John Savage, their 22-year-old grandson, said he heard a boom as one of the biggest trees on the property snapped suddenly, falling on top of the bedroom.
He said he discovered the bodies together, hugging in their bed. All you could see was ceiling and tree, he said. I was just going through sheer panic at that point.
John said the teenage sweethearts, married for over 50 years, were found hugging in the bed, adding that the family thinks it was Gods plan to take them together, rather than one suffer without the other.
Hurricane Helenes death toll has now risen to 189, making it the deadliest storm to hit the mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Marcia and Jerry Savage, who were killed by a tree that fell and crushed their bedroom
The family have so far raised $2,590 of their $15,000 target to help cover funeral expenses
A large oak lies on a home after it fell due to Storm Helene in Anderson, South Carolina (file)
Destroyed homes are seen in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, October 2
The storm has brought huge damage to the United States, killing some 189 people
A local police car is seen half engulfed in mud, in a flooded area of Lake Lure, North Carolina
A destroyed car in the aftermath of flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, NC
John said that he had only just checked on his grandparents before the tree came crashing down.
We heard one snap and I remember going back there and checking on them, he said. They were both fine, the dog was fine.
But not long after, he and his father heard a loud noise as the tree snapped and crushed them.
When they pulled them out of there, my grandpa apparently heard the tree snap beforehand and rolled over to try and protect my grandmother, he said.
They loved each other to their dying day, he added.
Jerry Savage did all sorts of handy work, but he worked mostly as an electrician and a carpenter.
He went in and out of retirement because he got bored, John said.
Hed get that spirit back in him to go back out and work.
Tammy Estep, 54, called her father a doer and the hardest worker she knew.
Marcia Savage was a retired bank teller. She was very active at their church and loved being there as often as she could, said granddaughter Katherine Savage, 27.
She had a beautiful voice and was always singing, especially gospel.
Estep said her mother loved cooking for her family, making an awesome turkey for Thanksgiving and known for her banana pudding.
She said their love was immediate, and it was everlasting.
Condolences posted on social media remembered the couple as generous, kind and humble.
John and Katherine spent many years of their childhood living in a trailer behind their grandparents house, and John and his father had been staying with his grandparents for the last few years.
Even with some of the recent storms to hit their community, trees fell further up in the yard and we had not had anything like that happen before, he said.
Over decades, the house would fill with family for Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus Easter egg hunts in the large yard.
A GoFundMe organized for their funeral expenses says they were survived by their son and daughter, along with four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Katherine Savage said her grandparents, especially Marcia, always offered to help her with her own three sons and would see the boys almost every day.
I havent even told my boys yet because we dont know how, she said.
Jerry and Marcia are among nearly 200 people killed in one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Dozens of them died just like the Savages, victims of trees that fell on homes or cars.
The dead include two South Carolina firefighters killed when a tree fell on their truck.
Kamala Harris poses for a photo as she hands out food for victims of the Hurricane
Damaged property is seen along the Broad River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
The sun sets over the storm-damaged Steinhatchee marina in the wake of Hurricane Helene
An uprooted tree landed on a pickup truck in front of a home in North Carolina, September 28
Trees that fell when Hurricane Helene hit Forest Acres, S.C., weigh down power lines
The storm battered communities across multiple states, flooding homes, causing mudslides and wiping out cell service.
President Joe Biden this week sent 1,000 active-duty soldiers to North Carolina to help with the response to Hurricane Helene.
The troops, who are stationed at Fort Liberty, N.C., will help with the distribution of food, water and other supplies.
The Department of Defense already has activated 22 helicopters to aid in search and rescue operations and provided dozens of high-water vehicles.
In total, FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts for this historic storm, the White House said.