BATAVIA, N.Y. — A remembrance service was held Saturday for Batavia native Terry Anderson, the journalist who was kidnapped and held captive in Lebanon for nearly seven years in the 1980s and ’90s.

Anderson died last weekend in his hometown.

The Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden held a remembrance service at the Holland Land Office, next to the Peace Garden, in Anderson’s honor. Anderson attended the garden’s groundbreaking in 2011 and was the first keynote speaker for the garden’s annual dinner.

The garden’s leadership spoke Saturday about what Anderson met to the garden.

“He became the perfect instrument for us to get our message across to the community. I couldn’t think of anyone more suitable to be an icon for what we stood for,” said Paula Savage, president and founder of the Batavia Peace Garden.

The Batavia Peace Garden commemorates Batavia’s major role in holding back the British after the city of Buffalo burned during the War of 1812.