A couple killed by a tree during Hurricane Helene were found hugging in their bedroom in South Carolina

As Hurricane Helene roaring outside, the wind howling and branches snapping, John Savage went into his grandparents’ bedroom to make sure they were OK.

“We heard a crack and I remember going back there and checking on them,” the 22-year-old said of his grandparents Marcia, 74, and Jerry, 78, who were lying in bed. “They were both fine, the dog was fine.”

But not long after, Savage and his father heard a “boom” – the sound of one of the largest trees on the property in Beech Island, South Carolina, crashing into his grandparents’ bedroom, killing them.

“All you could see was the ceiling and the tree,” he said. “At that point I was in pure panic.”

John Savage said his grandparents were found hugging each other in bed, adding that the family believes it was God’s plan to bring them together rather than for one to suffer without the other.

“When they pulled her out of there, my grandfather apparently heard the tree break beforehand and turned to protect my grandmother,” he said.

You are among the people who died here one of the deadliest storms in the history of the USA. More than 200 people were confirmed dead in several states Thursday, according to a CBS News tally.

Dozens of them died just like the Savages, victims of trees falling on houses or cars. Among the dead are two South Carolina firefighters who died when a tree fell on their truck. President Biden traveled to the Carolinas on Wednesday for an aerial tour of the extensive damage caused by the storm.

The storm devastated communities in several states, flooding homes, causing mudslides and knocking out cell phone reception.

“They loved each other until they died”

Jerry Savage did all sorts of practical work, but worked primarily as an electrician and carpenter. He went “in and out of retirement because he got bored,” John Savage said. “He would regain the courage to go out and work again.”

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 in her 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 to cook for her family, made amazing turkey at Thanksgiving and was known for her banana pudding.

Condolences poured in on social media, remembering 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 lived with his grandparents in recent years. Despite some of the recent storms that hit their community, trees fell further up the yard and “we’ve never had anything like this happen before,” he said.

Over the decades, the house filled with family at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Easter egg hunts also took place in the large garden.

A GoFundMe organized for their funeral expenses says they are survived by their son and daughter, as well as 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 haven’t even told my boys because we don’t know how,” she said.

The two were teenage lovers and had been married for over 50 years. Estep said their love was “immediate and eternal.”

“They loved each other until they died,” John Savage said.

In South Carolina, the One SC Fund directs donations to local nonprofits providing disaster relief and recovery, according to a spokesman for Gov. Henry McMaster. The state’s Emergency Management Division also provides information for people who want to volunteer, donate clothing or donate to food banks.