Retired Apple employee among victims of Lake Tahoe boat tragedy
Former long-time Apple employee Paula Bozinovich was among eight people who died on a Lake Tahoe boating trip over the weekend.
Paula Bozinovich [left] with son Josh Pickles [middle] and Terry Pickles [right]
On July 21st, a boat capsized on Lake Tahoe, causing the deaths of eight people. Among the group was Paula Bozinovich, formerly of Apple, who was celebrating her 71st birthday with the powerboat ride.
The boat passengers were caught up in a sudden storm while on the lake, reports The San Francisco Chronicle, resulting in eight-foot waves and gusts of up to 35mph. The 27-foot powerboat capsized, killing eight people with two survivors.
37-year-old DoorDash executive and son of Bozinovich Joshua Pickles also passed away as well as his father Terry Pickles.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office released the full list of the victims on Tuesday. The other five people who died included 72-year-old Peter Bayes, 71-year-old Timothy O'Leary, 66-year-old Theresa Giullari, 69-year-old James Guck, and 63-year-old Stephen Lindsay.
The accident is considered one of the deadliest in recent history for Lake Tahoe.
A long-time Apple employee
Before retiring, Bozinovich worked for Apple for quite a few years, including during the tenure of co-founder Steve Jobs. However, her work was more logistical and in the background than other roles at the company.
An email from former long-time Apple marketing employee Brian Croll published by Daring Fireball describes Bozinovich as being an employee "who you are not going to see profiled in any books on the history of Apple or Steve Jobs."
Croll explained that she worked with the ops team to ship CDs and DVDs on time and were correctly packaged in the box. Someone knowledgable of the right systems and right people to get tasks completed.
"Paula's extraordinary commitment, along with all the hundreds of other unheralded employees, translated the vision of Steve, the designers, the engineers, and the marketing people into a shipping product," Croll recounts.
Croll wrote the email to counter the usual obituaries of executives "who probably did way more harm than good to their companies." However, in Croll's view, if you look closely, "you find that people like Paula make all the difference."
Facebook comments from people who knew Bozinovich remembered her as a sweet woman who also valued good work, writes the Sacramento bee.
In one comment from Randy Tabing, Paula is described as a "light" who loved her dogs. Bozinovich referred to them as her "four-legged kids."
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