A celebration of Steve Jobs' life by Apple Inc will be held next week, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a memo to employees on Monday.

The event will be held at an outdoor amphitheater at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Wednesday, October 19, Cook said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Like many of you, I have experienced the saddest days of my lifetime and shed many tears during the past week, Cook said. And I've found comfort in both telling and listening to stories about Steve.

Jobs died last Wednesday at the age of 56 after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)