Originally appeared on E! Online
The Swayze family has experienced another loss.
Sean Swayze, the younger brother of Patrick Swayze, died Dec. 15 of an upper gastrointestinal bleed, according to his death certificate obtained by People. He was 63.
“I’m heartbroken to share that my cousin Sean Swayze passed away today,” Sean’s cousin Rachel Leon wrote in an Instagram post shortly after his passing. “Just recently, we were talking about him coming down to Texas to spend time with us, and I was really looking forward to it.”
According to his death certificate, Sean Swayze’s medical emergency that ultimately led to his death was caused by “severe metabolic acidosis, esophageal varices, and alcoholic liver cirrhosis,” per People.
Sean Swayze is survived by his brother Don Swayze, as well as his children Jesse Swayze, Kyle Swayze and Cassie Swayze.
“We are praying hard for the entire family during this difficult time,” Leon continued in her message. “Please know that we love you and are always here for you. Sean, I love you so much, and we will miss you dearly.”
READ: Jennifer Grey’s Dirty Dancing Memory of Patrick Swayze Will Lift You Up
The “Dirty Dancing” star preceded his brother’s death in 2009, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. In the years following his death, his widow Lisa Niemi — who went on to tie the knot with Albert DePrisco in 2014 — reflected on how she revisits his films to keep the actor’s memory alive.
“Here and there, it kind of catches me unaware and I always have my favorite parts,” Niemi explained during a 2023 appearance on TODAY. “I always cry in the same three places in ‘Ghost.’ I always love him falling out of the back of the airplane in ‘Point Break,’ going, ‘Adios, amigo,’ because that’s him. That’s so quintessential Patrick.”
And while it has been over 15 years since his passing, Niemi admitted that she still feels him around her every day.
“His voice is in my head. He comments on what I’m doing,” Niemi, who has been a vocal advocate for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, explained. “When I need a bolstering up or something’s going on, I can ask him in my head, and I hear exactly what he’s saying, which is generally, ‘Come on, girl, get real.'”
Lisa Niemi Swayze is carrying on her late husband Patrick Swayze’s memory and continuing to fight for an end to pancreatic cancer, the disease that took his life in 2009.
