Some people go through life, angry at the universe for the bad hand they were dealt, never making friends or any real connections with the outside world.
That wasn’t the case for Willie Paige.
“He’s never been a man of means,” says Cheryl Turner, a medical social worker for Hospice Advantage. “He really had a difficult life, but you’d never know it by seeing and talking to Willie. A lot of times, no one knew what was going on in Willie’s personal life. He was always happy, always had kind words for people — even for some of the people who had been unkind to him.”
Before Paige began to lose his life-long battle with cerebral palsy and landed in the care of Hospice Advantage at Oceanside Nursing Home on Tybee Island, he was the guy everyone knew as the unofficial member of Bucky and Barry, playing his famous air guitar off to the side at City Market.
And Turner says he is still that guy.
“That little twinkle in his eyes is still there and so is that warm smile,” she says.
According to Paige’s friends, it’s that zest for life and open-heartedness that drew so many people to Paige during his performances at City Market.
“I’ve known Willie about 15 years,” says Bucky Bryant from the local Bucky and Barry music duo. “Willie started coming down to City Market. We played in front of where Buffalo Wild Wings is, but back then it was Malone’s. That was the anchor of City Market.
“Willie would sing along with some of the songs. He asked if he brought a guitar if he could play with us. He brought an old guitar with a few strings on it and he sort of played air guitar over to the side.”
Bryant admits the duo quickly adopted Willie into their group.
“He sang in the choir in the church every Sunday,” Bryant says. “He would leave church and walk over to City Market and when we did our introductions, I would say ‘And this is Willie. You can find him every Sunday morning singing in the church choir.’
“He felt like he was a part of the act, and we precipitated that because it made him feel so good about himself. Tourists would get their picture taken with him and tip him. He would sing ‘Dock of the Bay’ and ‘This Little Light of Mine.’”
Bryant says Paige never let his disability slow him from a performance.
“When he sang, you could recognize the song. He sang better than he spoke.
“If he didn’t show up, everyone would ask us where he was. Everyone loved him.
“I think the main point people need to know about Willie is that he wasn’t just known around Savannah. People from all over the world would ask about him. Not a weekend goes by when people don’t ask about him. I had a guy from New Zealand the other day ask about Willie.”
But Paige didn’t just perform with Bucky and Barry. According to Bryant, he began to show up at City Market and try to sit in with anyone who would let him.
“He began playing with other acts in City Market — at least with those that would let him sit out there. Everyone really took to him and let him sit at the side and play air guitar.”
The last time Paige played, Bryant says, he left City Market in an ambulance after a show ended and said he would be back.
“That was January 2012, and he never came back and we didn’t know what happened to him.”
Word finally traveled back to Bryant that Paige had been admitted to Oceanside Nursing Home on Tybee Island.
“The nurse called me and said, ‘He’s been asking about you,’” Bryant says. “He’s got cerebral palsy. He’s had it since birth, and he needs round-the-clock care.
“Willie has no one here to give him that level of care so the nursing home took over. He’s in the final stages with Hospice Advantage, and he’s indigent.”
Turner, the medical social worker with Hospice Advantage, now sees Paige on a regular basis through her job, but she says she knew him from his musical performances at City Market.
“I knew him way before now,” she says. “Kind of like everyone else in town that is familiar with the local music scene for the past 10 to 15 years.
“I just described Willie to someone the other day,” she says. “At the end of the day, I love what I do and there are some people you get more attached to. Even though they are not family, you feel like you are a part of their family.
“It’s just his heart. He’s one of those people who has such a good heart. He’s so gracious. If he had $5 and you asked to borrow $4.50, he would give it to you and find a way to live off of 50 cents. He’s always been that kind of person, but some people took advantage of it.
“I wish we had more people like Willie. Life throws a bunch of curve balls, and it’s how you respond to it that defines the kind of person you are. He’s a sweetheart.”
It’s not clear whether Willie knew the impact he made on locals and tourists in City Market, but it’s clear that one relationship he made would ensure he would not become one of the many folks in Chatham County whose poverty denies them a proper burial service.
“(Willie’s) caregiver came to the funeral home to get pricing for his funeral,” says Kyle Nikola, owner of Bonaventure Funeral Home. “She said he didn’t want to be cremated.”
Nikola says Chatham County doesn’t have a formal indigent program and people in Paige’s financial situation would lie in a morgue until the county could find a responsible party to pay for the burial. If no one is found, the body is cremated at the county’s expense.
“When she started telling me about him, I said, ‘Are you talking about Willie?’ I’ve spent a lot of time in City Market and anyone in City Market knows who he is.”
Nikola decided to find a way to honor Paige’s request and give him a proper burial.
“Basically, at my cost, I’m giving Willie the funeral, casket, burial costs at Magnolia Memorial Gardens and headstone, all done as financially able as possible,” Nikola says.
“I brought up the idea of a fundraiser to cover costs,” he says. “So many people know him and care about him. I went down and talked to the general manager at Wild Wings and he thought it was a great idea, and he put me in touch with Bucky.”
The group decided to hold a fundraiser in City Market from 1-4 p.m. today in front of Buffalo Wild Wings. Thomas Claxton, Jeff Beasley, Chuck Courtenay, Jason Courtenay and Bucky and Barry will play a tribute concert to honor Paige, who will be there to enjoy the show.
The team at Hospice Advantage offered to bring Paige to the event, and donations will be accepted through Hospice Advantage volunteers during the event.
“It will give us a chance to say goodbye to Willie,” Bryant says. “Anyone who wants to can stand up and say a few words to Willie. It will be the last time for people to see him.
“Some people may just want to come out and touch his hand and say, ‘I love you, Willie.’”
IF YOU GO
What: Benefit concert for Willie Paige
Where: City Market near Buffalo Wild Wings
When: 1-4 p.m. today
Cost: Free, donations accepted to help pay for Paige’s funeral expenses