Here is more information about the extraordinary marriage of Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze and Lisa's life after Patrick's death.
Kelly Lynch: "Like any great marriage, they seem to move together as one person ... They're like a single organism. They love each other and it's apparent. The partnership is for life."
Source: Serena Kappes. Patrick & Lisa: A Love Story. People.com. 9/14/2009.
Born:
Lisa Niemi aka Lisa A. Haapaniemi: May 26, 1956 in Houston, Texas.
Died
Patrick: Patrick Swayze died on September 14, 2009 at their ranch near Los Angeles, California. Patrick died at the age of 57 after losing his courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.Richard Corliss: Swayze left this life with a grace and dignity befitting the men he had so often embodied. That's how heroes die."
Source: Richard Corliss. "Patrick Swayze." Time Magazine. 9/28/2009. pg. 22.
Lisa: "I didn't feel him leave when he actually stopped breathing. I feel him here. I feel like he hasn't left. I can feel every contour of his hand in mine."
Source: Hilary Shenfeld. "Patrick Swayze's Wife: I Feel Like He Hasn't Left." People.com. 10/30/2009.
How Patrick and Lisa Met:
Lisa and Patrick met when she was 15 years old. Lisa was one of Patrick's mother's dancing students.Patrick about meeting Lisa: "I robbed the cradle. All these girls were studying with my mum and I used to go and check them out in their leotards - it was like being in a candy store ... She didn't buy any of my nonsense. We spent half our dates in total silence as she wouldn't talk to me if she thought I was putting on an act."
"We were friends for a long time before we became lovers. We even lived and slept together for a year before we had sex. That wasn't easy."
Source: Lester Middlehurst. "Drink, suicide and why I turned against Hollywood." DailyMail.co.uk. 11/29/2005.
Wedding Date:
In May 2008, Patrick and Lisa renewed their marriage vows.
Children:
Patrick: "We have an unspoken language after all these years." Though the couple had hoped to have children after suffering a miscarriage on Valentine's Day in 1990, it wasn't to be. "We just missed our window; we got so focused on our world and our careers that we missed the boat."
Source: Serena Kappes. Patrick & Lisa: A Love Story. People.com. 9/14/2009.
Residence:
Patrick: "We try to run our ranch like a wildlife preserve. If you live your life very close to the environment, you realize that if people pull together and change one thing, one time, it'll break this vicious victim cycle that we're all in ... It's a timber farm and we're trying to fix mismanaged forests. We have about 700 head of cattle and we're turning it into a wildlife preserve. I love the idea of owning as much land as I can and protecting it from greedy grandchildren for the future."
Source: "Patrick Swayze -- The Cult King." News.com.au
Occupations:
Lisa: Actress, spokeswoman for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, writer, choreographer, dancer, singer, producer.
Serena Kappes: "His love for Lisa inspired Patrick ... to pen the hit ballad "She's Like the Wind" for the blockbuster [Dirty Dancing] movie's soundtrack. Writing that song, "I just felt at that time that I'm very, very lucky to have a woman who thinks I hung the moon" ... And though they didn't appear together onscreen, Patrick practiced all his dance routines for the movie with his wife."
Source: Serena Kappes. Patrick & Lisa: A Love Story. People.com. 9/14/2009.
Quotes About the Marriage of Patrick and Lisa:
Source: Julie Jordan. "One Year After Patrick Swayze's Death, His Wife Celebrates His Legacy." People.com. 9/14/2010.
When Patrick's drinking became a problem in 2003, Lisa and Patrick separated. "He was imploding pretty badly. I didn't think he was going to live through it and I didn't want to watch that."
Source: Hilary Shenfeld. "Patrick Swayze's Wife: I Feel Like He Hasn't Left." People.com. 10/30/2009.
Lisa: "I've spent two thirds of my life with him ... My regret is that I didn't tell him that I loved him enough over that entire 34 years. I am so grateful for what I had and my connection to him, and part of me believes that I will see him again and I'm just going to have to go on until then."
Source: Elizabeth Leonard. "Patrick Swayze's Widow: I will See Him Again." People.com. 10/27/2009.
Patrick about the key to a long term marriage: "I suppose it's about keeping love alive, learning how to fall in love over and over again, not taking each other for granted, forgiveness, trust. Whatever it is, it works for us."
Source: Lester Middlehurst. "Drink, suicide and why I turned against Hollywood." DailyMail.co.uk. 11/29/2005.
Patrick: "We're big believers in, arguments are okay as long as it's not about your ego, but it's about a mutual goal –- trying to create something special."
Source: Serena Kappes. Patrick & Lisa: A Love Story. People.com. 9/14/2009.
Patrick about being married: "I like being married. I'm sort of like a loyal sheepdog, sometimes to a fault."
Source: "Patrick Swayze -- The Cult King." News.com.au
Lisa about Patrick: "I give him a lot of credit for not making me feel overshadowed or left out."
Source: TV Guide interview. Tribute to Lisa
Patrick about working with Lisa: "We've always been a team. We raise horses together, run a music business and a wildlife preserve together. We have an unspoken language after all these years. We just celebrated our 30th anniversary."
Source: Courtney Hazlett, People. Vol. 64, No. 10. pg 37. 9/05/2005.
Patrick about Lisa: "She's a huge inspiration. She's never lost the vision, and I did. I got beat down by the business and the world and ... does anybody really care about doing a film that could really make a difference and really touch people's lives? And she's like a pitbull and never quits."
Source: Randall King. "Swayze crazy about 'Peg."Canoe.ca. 3/10/2001.
Don Swayze: "He looks into her [Lisa's] eyes and he see nothing except, 'Everything is going to be okay.' No matter what he's going through, it's okay. She's just there."
Source: Serena Kappes. Patrick & Lisa: A Love Story. People.com. 9/14/2009.
