Steve Jobs managed his farewells before his death

California, Oct 7: Steve P Jobs, the visionary co-founder and former chief executive of Apple Inc. managed his farewells before his death on Oct 5.

After fighting cancer for a long time, in August he stepped down as a chief executive. Nine months back, he conveyed a message to few of his friends that his time was becoming shorter.

Lots of people were aware of the news that Steve was at his last stage, so they wanted to say goodbye. Last week, Laurene, his wife received most of the visitors, she apologised and explained that Steve was tired to receive more visitors. He became so weak that he was not able to walk up the stairs of his house.

In his final weeks, he (Steve Jobs) met his physician Dean Ornish, a preventive health advocate in one of his favourite restaurants Jin Sho in Palo Alto. He conveyed his last message to his colleagues including the Apple board member Bill Campbell, venture capitalist John Doerr, Disney chief executive Robert A Iger and his biographer Walter Isaacson. He gave his advice on iPhone 4s.

During his last days, he mostly spent time with his wife and children. Now, they will take care of $6.5 billion fortune.

Dr Ornish, his physician was quoted as saying, "Steve made choices. I once asked him if he was glad that he had kids, and he said, 'It's 10,000 times better than anything I've ever done.' But for Steve, it was all about living life on his own terms and not wasting a moment with things he didn't think were important. He was aware that his time on earth was limited. He wanted control of what he did with the choices that were left."

People payed tributes by droving garland of bouquets, candles and apples, each with one bite carefully removed.

Jobs's biographer asked him why he accepted the questions of someone who was writing a book. He replied that "I wanted my kids to know me. I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did."

In 2005, Steve delivered a speech in Stanford, where he said, "death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent." The benefit of death, he said, is you know not to waste life living someone else's choices. "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

Mona Simpson, Jobs's sister was quoted as saying, "Steve's concerns these last few weeks were for people who depended on him: the people who worked for him at Apple and his four children and his wife. His tone was tenderly apologetic at the end. He felt terrible that he would have to leave us."

When his illness was widely spread, he was asked to accept awards and attend farewell dinner. But he refused the offers. Even one of his acquaintances wanted to send a gift to thank Job for his friendship, but his family asked him to stop calling as Steve had other things to do.

Dr Ornish added that he was very human. He was so much more of a real person than most people know. That's what made him so great.

OneIndia News