North Carolina Town Held "Dirty Dancing" Memorial In Swayze's Honor

I hate to admit this, especially as many mourn the passing of Patrick Swayze. He was an absolutely amazing, evocative and powerful actor and dancer, you simply cannot take that away from his legacy. Alright, so here's my admission: I've never seen Dirty Dancing in its entirety.

There's no excuse. I'm a late 20-something woman born in the 80s and coupled with my obsession with Michael Jackson and Michael J. Fox, I should know the movie by heart.

More than 20 years since its release, I wish I appreciated it more in its infancy. That doesn't stop me from getting misty over the thought of this touching tribute that is being planned in Swayze's honor.

According to Us Magazine, residents of Lake, Lure, North Carolina – the town where it was filmed – had memorial service for the 57 year-old actor who died last week of pancreatic cancer. 

On Saturday, the town will hold a memorial service at 7 p.m. at Firefly Cove – the housing development that served as Camp Chimney in Dirty Dancing. The service was free, but visitors were asked to donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

The New York Times also published an excerpt of his upcoming memoir The Time of My Life, which will hit stores on September 29. In the book, Swayze discusses being accepting of death, calling it an "emotional rollercoaster."

Swayze writes about his diagnosis: "I had been excited about the upswing my life was on. Now it all seemed like a cruel joke. I couldn't be dying — I had too much to live for!"

I began thinking to myself, I've had more lifetimes than any 10 people put together, and it's been an amazing ride. So this is okay."

Photo courtesy of Alan Light via http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/ / CC BY 2.0">Flickr.