In a series of essays distributed inside Apple, the company’s leadership remember its co-founder.
Monday is the fourth anniversary of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs's death, and Apple is marking it with a handful of essays from company luminaries who knew him well. Among those honoring Jobs, who would have turned 60 this year, are Eddy Cue -- Apple's SVP of Internet software and services, Bud Tribble -- a member of the original Macintosh design team, and CEO Tim Cook. Below, brief excerpts from the pieces, which were posted to Apple's intranet, as well as Cook's all-hands memo.
In February of 2009, Steve was on a leave of absence from Apple and spending his time at his home. I would drop by after work and discuss many things with him. He was waiting for a liver transplant and his health seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. One day in particular, he seemed especially ill and I left feeling so distraught that I threw up in his yard.
I was worried he would not live long enough to reach the top of the waiting list for a cadaver liver. After checking out my own health and researching donor liver transplants, I visited Steve again and told him I wanted to give him a portion of my liver. Despite his condition and the uncertainty of whether he would live long enough to be at the top of the waiting list, he adamantly refused to accept my offer for fear it would place my own health in jeopardy.
That was the kind of person he was. He was unselfish in the face of his own mortality. Even when his outlook was bleak and he had every right to accept help, he refused, rather than put a friend's health at risk. He put his compassion for me above his own needs, and I will never forget it.
-- Tim
Working with him, I always felt that there was a personal connection. It wasn't just work. And in a way, sometimes he was a brother; sometimes he was a father figure, depending on what it was. But it was a family member nonetheless. And it was somebody you didn't want to disappoint. I've never felt that way about anybody else that I've worked with. You feel that way about your family. You don't wan't to disappoint your dad, you may not want to disappoint your bother or your kids or your wife. But you generally don't feel that way about your boss, per se. There was a different feeling. He had that. He created that. And I think that's part of the personal touch of the relationship that at least I felt I had with him around it.
That was the person he was, the person I knew. There were obviously times where we disagreed, fought, and other things -- like any relationship has. But he was a person who really cared.
-- Eddy
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