Did people come together in the last days of his life to pray for Greg Comer, a 41-year-old father in North Carolina who had been battling cancer, and also to pray for his family? Yes: A prayer chain was started in early January 2011 and was shared on Facebook by people from all over the country in the weeks before Comer's death. He died on February 26, 2011. More than 10 years later, the copy/paste text of the original prayer chain still circulates, phrased as if Comer still has only days to live.
This undated prayer chain began to circulate on Facebook in January 2011 (here), shortly before Greg Comer's death. Facebook users continue to share the undated prayer request, which has not been revised or updated. One example is this screenshot of the prayer chain text shared by the Facebook page Praying Out Loud on November 20, 2021. The post was captioned, "PRAYERS ALERT" The text of the screenshot reads:
A prayer request... Greg Comer has battled cancer for almost 7 yrs. The doctors are giving him only days to live. Greg is 41, married & has 2 children, Jacob 11 & Alyssa 7. Jacob has asked his Mom for a special request, for everyone to pray for a miracle for his daddy. He wants a prayer chain across the world. Please pray for Greg and help start this prayer chain across the world for Jacob.
This is how the post appeared on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Image source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Dec 28 21:57:49 2021 UTC)
Greg Comer's obituary was published in the February 28 - March 1, 2011, edition of the Gaston Gazette in Gastonia, North Carolina. His obituary is also published online at legacy.com. It begins:
Gregory Lee Comer, 41, of Lincolnton, won his battle and was welcomed into Heaven to be with the Lord on February 26th, 2011.
After listing surviving members of his family, the obituary continued:
Greg being the man he was would want you not to mourn his loss but rejoice for him. His concern would be for his family through this difficult time.
