Tim Cook marks anniversary of Steve Jobs's death, remembers a leader, mentor, and 'dear friend'
Monday is the fourth anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, a solemn occasion remembered by Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in an email sent to his company's staff, in which he recalled a "brilliant person" who left an undeniable impact on those around him.
"Today marks four years since Steve passed away," Cook wrote in the email, republished by The Telegraph. "On that day, the world lost a visionary. We at Apple lost a leader, a mentor, and many of us lost a dear friend."
Cook has also marked the annual occasion in years past with a company-wide email, asking employees to honor and remember Jobs. Last year, he told the staff to reflect on how the products created under Jobs have impacted not only the technology industry, but also the world.
Having become a close friend and confidant of Jobs before his passing, Cook frequently speaks openly about how much Jobs meant to him. In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last month, Cook said that Jobs was "a joy to work with," and that he always demanded the best out of his employees.
"I miss him every day, Cook said.
In his latest letter sent out Monday, Cook recalled the legacy of Jobs, particularly in the team at Apple and the products that they create. He also spoke of the joy that Jobs brought to his family, and how important his children were to him.
Cook's full email is included below:
"Today marks four years since Steve passed away," Cook wrote in the email, republished by The Telegraph. "On that day, the world lost a visionary. We at Apple lost a leader, a mentor, and many of us lost a dear friend."
Cook has also marked the annual occasion in years past with a company-wide email, asking employees to honor and remember Jobs. Last year, he told the staff to reflect on how the products created under Jobs have impacted not only the technology industry, but also the world.
Having become a close friend and confidant of Jobs before his passing, Cook frequently speaks openly about how much Jobs meant to him. In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last month, Cook said that Jobs was "a joy to work with," and that he always demanded the best out of his employees.
"I miss him every day, Cook said.
In his latest letter sent out Monday, Cook recalled the legacy of Jobs, particularly in the team at Apple and the products that they create. He also spoke of the joy that Jobs brought to his family, and how important his children were to him.
Cook's full email is included below:
Team,
Today marks four years since Steve passed away. On that day, the world lost a visionary. We at Apple lost a leader, a mentor, and many of us lost a dear friend.
Steve was a brilliant person, and his priorities were very simple. He loved his family above all, he loved Apple, and he loved the people with whom he worked so closely and achieved so much.
Each year since his passing, I have reminded everyone in the Apple community that we share the privilege and responsibility of continuing the work Steve loved so much.
What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture. Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better.
And, of course, the joy he brought his loved ones.
He told me several times in his final years that he hoped to live long enough to see some of the milestones in his children's lives. I was in his office over the summer with Laurene and their youngest daughter. Messages and drawings from his kids to their father are still there on Steve's whiteboard.
If you never knew Steve, you probably work with someone who did or who was here when he led Apple. Please stop one of us today and ask what he was really like. Several of us have posted our personal remembrances on AppleWeb, and I encourage you to read them.
Thank you for honoring Steve by continuing the work he started, and for remembering both who he was and what he stood for.
Tim
Comments
I wonder if this will be a yearly thing in perpetuity.
I hope not. At some point soon Cook needs to respectfully stop marking the anniversary and simply remember Jobs in private.
A great loss to the world.
He was only remembering it with the other employees at the company Steve started. This wasn't a public letter. AppleInsider decided this letter was their business and published it. They are the ones who need to learn to keep some things private.
I hope not. At some point soon Cook needs to respectfully stop marking the anniversary and simply remember Jobs in private.
This was a private email to other employees at the company Steve started. I think it is highly disrespectful to publish this letter online in the first place. It's AI that needs to learn to keep some things private.
Agreed. A letter to employees every year doesn't seem necessary. Although based on the wording this year my guess is the letter is s subtle dig at all these movies and books that have come out.
And the market is honoring Steve by selling off the stock when the market overall is up today. All because one sell side analyst cut his Q4 iPhone estimate by pushing some of the 6S sales into Q1. So it's not really even a cut, it's just shifting the quarter when those sales are recognized and Wall Street still shits all over the stock. :rolleyes:
I wonder if this will be a yearly thing in perpetuity.
I hope not. At some point soon Cook needs to respectfully stop marking the anniversary and simply remember Jobs in private.
Why? It is really addressed to the world. I choked up a bit reading that note.
I can recall very few passings that caused the kind of worldwide outpouring of grief and sadness as Job's death did. I think it's a great day to pause and reflect on his legacy every year.
I am sorry to say this, but your post sounds churlish.
I wonder if this will be a yearly thing in perpetuity.
I don't see this as a problem...especially since it's done internally in a company letter.
Look at it as something like Remembrance Day here in Canada or Memorial Day in the US. Paying respect to someone who served their company.
Do William and Harry put out a letter every year on the anniversary of princess Diana's death? Her passing caused way more outpouring of grief than Steve Jobs passing did. I know this is intended for Apple employees but every year now the memo has leaked. Even if Apple PR isn't leaking it themselves they have to know by now someone will.
I wonder if this will be a yearly thing in perpetuity.
I hope not. At some point soon Cook needs to respectfully stop marking the anniversary and simply remember Jobs in private.
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
Why? It is really addressed to the world. I choked up a bit reading that note.
I can recall very few passings that caused the kind of worldwide outpouring of grief and sadness as Job's death did. I think it's a great day to pause and reflect on his legacy every year.
I am sorry to say this, but your post sounds churlish.
Churlish? Couldn't agree more!
My wife remembers and honors the passing date (and birthday) of every close member of her family. I only wish that I could do as well.
I personally don't remember the exact day that Steve Jobs died, but I would never chastise those that do.
I wonder if this will be a yearly thing in perpetuity.
I hope not. At some point soon Cook needs to respectfully stop marking the anniversary and simply remember Jobs in private.
Why? It is really addressed to the world. I choked up a bit reading that note.
I can recall very few passings that caused the kind of worldwide outpouring of grief and sadness as Job's death did. I think it's a great day to pause and reflect on his legacy every year.
I am sorry to say this, but your post sounds churlish.
I can see both sides of this.
On one hand it can seem a little bit ridiculous to do it every year. Maybe after next year which will mark 5 years, they do it every five years or something. Every five years seems perfectly reasonable to me.
On the other hand your point of view is completely valid that Jobs has touched so many millions all over the globe and it seems fitting. Every year also seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Forgive me for not thinking of better comparisons and I don't want to get into a discussion about how important people are and the impact they have had on the world, but we remember Martin Luther King Jr. every year. As well as Washington and Lincoln on Presidents day. It is a poor comparison I know, and it is unlikely there will ever be a Steve Jobs National Holiday.
I simply wonder if we will still be honoring Jobs every year in say 50, 100 or 150 years from now.
Steve was a brilliant genius at some things but he was also a dick. People should know about all the good and bad about him.
You could choose to ignore my posts since you seem unable to respond with anything less than insults. In fact, I'd rather you blocked me since I'm sick of your thin skinned responses to any and every post.
Right because nobody knows that he was a dick sometimes. That's never been discussed.
It is incredibly sad that the media seems to stoke and continue the currently fashionable but totally undeserved character assassination of a great man.
Steve had everything he worked for taken from him by cancer, but this is not punishment enough for his supposed 'crimes'.
The crimes being his 'difficult personal life' and his business oriented driving ambition and focus.
Before his passing? Tim Cook worked as Steve's right hand man for 13 years. From 1998 - 2011 they were the force behind rebuilding Apple. This wasn't a before his passing stint of time.
I understand what you mean, and I don't speak for Neil Hughes but what I got from that wording is that they grew extremely close as Jobs got more sick.
To the point where Cook was more than willing to go under the knife to try and save his friends life.
The hatred that is leveled at Steve Jobs is playground level - mob mentallity bullying.
It is incredibly sad that the media seems to stoke and continue the currently fashionable but totally undeserved character assassination of a great man.
Steve had everything he worked for taken from him by cancer, but this is not punishment enough for his supposed 'crimes'.
The crimes being his 'difficult personal life' and his business oriented driving ambition and focus.
Tell me about it. I vividly remember what went on in the c|net comment section the day after SJ passed. There was unbridled jubilation at his death with commenters wanting to know where he would be buried so they could go and piss on his grave. It was very much like the videos of the Palestinians dancing in the streets after 9/11 (videos which were quickly covered up by the media and never seen again). And it’s still that mentality at c|net. Any article about Apple is instantly pounced upon by the same lowlifes that wanted to defecate on Jobs’ grave. It’s much worse than ‘playground level.’ It’s mental illness.