Will Tweedy
Protagonist and narrator, Will is just 14-years-old. He misses his grandmother, but he wants his grandpa to be safe and happy so he approves of Ms. Love. Most importantly he has a solid relationship with Rucker and wants one with her too. He gets into a lot of trouble as impulsive kids can sometimes. Ultimately, however, he's a sensitive guy who really cares about his family. He tries to help both his grandpa and his mom through their grieving processes.
Rucker Blakeslee
Three weeks after his wife -- Mattie Lou -- dies Rucker marries Ms. Love, despite the obvious disapproval of the townspeople. He doesn't want to live alone and has arranged a deal with her to take care of him in exchange for his house after his death. It seems like Will must take after his grandpa because Rucker too is an extremely sensitive man. As he gets to know Love better, he learns about her tragic past which is preventing her from pursuing romance today. He helps her work through her trauma, and they try their marriage over, for real this time. He's a savvy businessman who stays ahead of the times, despite his advanced age. This is how he knows that investing in the automobile market is a good idea. He dies of pneumonia.
Miss Love Simpson
Love is decades younger than Rucker, but she likes the security which marriage offers. She's been working as a hat maker but becomes his full-time caretaker and homemaker after their marriage. From Baltimore, she's an outsider in town already to be sure. Haunted by her sordid past, she's just trying to do her best not to get hurt or to hurt anybody else. Thanks to Rucker's patient love she comes out of her shell by the end. She really loves him. When he dies, she reveals that she's pregnant with his child. She wants to raise him in Cold Sassy in honor of his father.
Mary Willis
Will's mom and Rucker's daughter Mary struggles to work through her grief after losing her mom.
Miss Effie Belle Tate
She's the leading town gossip. She spreads word about both Ms. Love's ex and Will's youthful indiscretions at the cemetary.
Clayton McAllister
He was once engaged to Love. He comes all the way from Texas to try and win her back, but she's already married. Without permission he kisses her on the front porch. Ms. Love sends him away with fury.
Hoyt Tweedy
He's Will's dad. Hoyt works for Rucker, running his story in town. In an effort to help his wife feel better, he buys a Cadillac and becomes the first person in town to own a car.
Lightfoot McLendon
She is in class with Will. She lives on the poor side of town, her family genuinely impoverished. Although she likes Will very much, she ends up marrying Hosie Roach because of his money.
Camp Williams
He is Will's uncle. Camp commits suicide suddenly near the end of the book. No one really knows why.
