Macon starstruck and still mourning after Gregg Allman’s funeral

Celebrity family members in town for Gregg Allman’s funeral visited, ate and slept at some of his favorite places in Macon this past weekend.

It was late Friday night when Cher, Elijah Blue Allman and Layla Allman checked into the 1842 Inn, a grand antebellum-style bed and breakfast on College Street that Gregg Allman frequented throughout his life.

“They were very nice people,” hotel manager EJ Nobles said Monday. Cher “was definitely in star-mode.”

Gregg Allman’s autograph is on a 2010 picture on the hotel’s “wall of fame,” which also includes Oprah Winfrey among other stars.

Nobles said Cher declined to have her photo taken but promised to mail an autographed picture to the B&B.

Cher and Allman married in the 1970s after the founding member of the Allman Brothers Band popped the question in an alley downtown. Their son, Elijah Blue, was about 7 months old when they divorced.

Early Friday morning, Cher Tweeted “Gotta put my head in Place 4 (tomorrow) but Gregory wouldn't accept this 4 a New York Min. Will the circle be unbroken, by & by.”

About 5 minutes after midnight Saturday, Cher tweeted that the family had spent time with Gregg Allman and “tomorrow we say goodbye. He was shy. He Was a KIND,LOVING man. The Sadness is immeasurable 4 all.”

More than 1,000 lined the streets along the procession route to Rose Hill Cemetery on Saturday afternoon.

The family ate at H&H Restaurant after the funeral. Fried chicken, meatloaf, field peas, collards and fried okra were among items on the lunch menu, according to a Facebook post by Duane Betts, son of surviving band member Dickey Betts.

Later, at a private gathering with live music at The Big House that evening, Cher tweeted a “Final goodbye to a Musical Genius. He was (a) sweet, shy, Loving man AND a mystery to all of us at times. He had demons & he fought them. We (loved) Him.”

The stars left town early Sunday morning, Nobles said.

Though rain came in random, torrential bursts Monday afternoon, Allman’s fans were undeterred in their trek to visit his grave.

Dozens of fans trickled in and out of the cemetery all afternoon, despite the muddy terrain.

Tears fell down Jeffrey Alan Hatcher’s cheeks as he told a Telegraph reporter he hadn’t seen Allman in about 30 years.

“These are some good brothers here,” Hatcher said.

Hatcher said he lived in Macon in the ‘70s and worked for Phil Walden, co-founder of Capricorn Studios, where the Allman Brothers Band’s career started.

In front of a picture and an arrangement of white flowers atop Allman’s grave, Hatcher placed a quarter with his initials among other quarters and tokens of tribute.

“It gets a little better every day,” Hatcher said of the grief. “He’s in good hands now, that’s all that matters.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 9:05 AM with the headline "Macon starstruck and still mourning after Gregg Allman’s funeral."