Saying Goodbye to a Friend Electronically

It took me awhile to write this as it is about a friend who passed away recently.  Now the interesting thing about this friend is that we never met in person.  She and I initially met through an online chat room dedicated to an organization to which we both belonged.  She belonged in Oregon and I in Ohio.  We had mutual friends who knew both of us in person, but she and I never met.  I always had it on my list to do, but the trip never happened.  Over the years we chatted online, on the phone, emailed and more recently exchanges on Facebook.  It was through that social media channel that I was able to say my last goodbye.  My friend had ALS and in her final months was still able to actively be on Facebook.  So we exchanged messages and tended to each others "farms."  In her last day, her hospice nurse was able to read to her the messages from her many, many Facebook friends.  So even though we were spread across the country, we were right there with her as she passed.

To some, this may seem sort of creepy, but for me using Facebook was my chance for closure.  Have you ever had this kind of exchange?  How have you handed social media friends who have passed?  Do you defriend them? When?  I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.