Georgia Comfort, 70, pianist aided Waccamaw Indian programs
January 6, 2022
Georgia Comfort of Hagley Estates, a pianist and music teacher, died Dec. 17. She was 70.
She was born Jan. 8, 1951, the daughter of Jo Anne and George Riser. She spent her formative years in Ohio, where her classmates named her homecoming queen in her senior year. She then attended Ohio University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in piano pedagogy. During her years there, she met her husband, Philip.
Mrs. Comfort spent a life of service to her family and community. She spent 25 years in Pawleys Island, teaching piano and being pianist, organist and choir director at Precious Blood of Christ Catholic Church.
She was a decendent of the Ogala Sioux and became active in the Waccamaw Indian tribe after moving to the area. She was adopted into the tribe in 2012 and helped organize and promote its annual pauwau. It was a way “to do what I can to help keep Native American history, culture and life alive,” she said in a 2013 interview.
In 1989, she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. She underwent a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy. The doctors gave her a year to live.
“I’m a walking miracle,” she said in a 2014 interview.
She wrote a book about her experience, “Dying to Live.”
“I value every day. I’m a person who lives in the moment not in the past, not in the future,” she said in a 1999 interview.
Mrs. Comfort was also told by doctors that because her arm had been injured by the cancer she would never play the piano again. She proved them wrong by undergoing physical therapy that allowed her to resume performing and teaching.
In addition to her husband of 50 years, she is survived by her sons, Jeremy, John and Peter, and four grandchildren, Sage, Jonah, Reid and Drake. Her son Jeremy, her husband and her sister Sally cared for her until the end. She is also survived by her brothers, Bob and Ted, and by her other relatives, especially Rich, Carolyn and Greg.
A memorial service will be held Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. at Precious Blood, followed by a repast with eulogies.
