AppleInsider Staff
Among those who spoke at the event, according to The Wall Street Journal, were his widow Laurene Powell Jobs, sister Mona Simpson, and three of his children. Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison also spoke.
Citing two anonymous people who attended the event, the memorial also featured performances from cellist Yo Yo Ma, singer Joan Baez, and U2 lead singer Bono, who read lyrics from an iPad.
The mood wasn't entirely solemn, as one person reportedly said that many of the speakers cracked jokes about Jobs. A longer list of attendees, which included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, actor Tim Allen and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, was revealed earlier Monday.
Sunday's invite-only event was held at Stanford Memorial Church, and hundreds were said to have attended. Apple has planned another memorial for Jobs intended for employees at the company's Cupertino, Calif., campus for this Wednesday.
A smaller service for immediate family and friends of Jobs was held earlier this month, two days after he passed away on Oct. 5 after a long bout with cancer. Jobs was 56.
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80 Comments
I would have assumed Jobs would have had a Buddhist ceremony, but I'm not 100% sure if he even was one. He certainly did not sound like a "Christian"... he sounded more like an atheist.
@SpamSandwich From what I heard he was Buddhist, but like you I can't confirm it either. In any case. I am not sure if I appreciate you suggesting him an atheist. Not being an Christian != Atheist. Based on this what you seem to say that Buddhist, Yiddish, Hindu, Muslim, etc. are atheist!
Steve described himself as a Buddhist, but didn't follow all the doctrine and dogmatic B.S.
Steve was so hands-on, he probably drew up the plans for his memorial service, decided how he wanted to be buried, etc. Heck, he probably personally selected the people on the guest list, picked who he wanted to speak, who would cater the reception, and almost everything about each of the events.
My guess is that he left instructions for dozens, possibly hundreds of other topics. His kids' education. His wife's future, including the possibility that she might remarry someday. What to do with the Jackling Estate property (there's probably a complete set of blueprints). How he would like to be remembered in future events (both Apple related and private things like family weddings). Charitable contributions, perhaps done anonymously which would continue Steve and Laurene's intense preference to privacy.
@SpamSandwich From what I heard he was Buddhist, but like you I can't confirm it either. In any case. I am not sure if I appreciate you suggesting him an atheist. Not being an Christian != Atheist. Based on this what you seem to say that Buddhist, Yiddish, Hindu, Muslim, etc. are atheist!
Believe me, I have nothing against atheists.
One clear indicator was Apple's tongue-in-cheek price for their first Apple computer... $666.66. Although, Woz denies any "biblical" reference.
http://myoldmac.net/FAQ/Apple1-priced$666.66-Why-WozAnswers.htm
I don't have anything to base this on either, but I always got the impression that while Steve may have dabbled in Buddhism when he was younger, that religion of any kind was not something that he was very concerned with.
That's still a very different thing from being atheist. Atheism is a religion, it's staking a position of faith in "not", rather than just not thinking about it one way or the other.
I'm very excited to get the biography when it comes out to see how much of that kind of personal stuff is revealed.