Tuesday, October 18, 2011

STEVE JOBS WHAT I LEARNED FROM HIM



Everyone has a story.  Some are more interesting while others more tragic. In my past blogs I mentioned how eulogies are very interesting as it tells us more about the person who just left us.

For many years I followed Steve Jobs from the beginning when Apple was in battle with Bill Gates at Microsoft.  I traded both stocks on and off for years, kicking myself for not putting them away and forgetting about them.  Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda has been my sorrows for years.

Since Steve Job passed away, I have been researching more about him especially after viewing his commencement speech at Stamford University.  If you have not seen it, I recommend it to every student and adult.  He inspired me as well as many other people,  bringing tears to my eyes. 



Learning about how his biological mother, Joanne Schieble, an unwed graduate student,  reluctantly gave her son up for adoption  in 1955 interested me.  The reason for her concern was that she wanted her son to be adopted by parents who were educated and would promise to send their son to college.  The adoptive parents,  Paul and Clara Jobs did  agree however Steve did not see the sense to it years later.  His biological father was Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian man with whom Steve never reconciled

John, his father left Syria at 18 to study at the American University in Beirut, where he was a pan-Arab activist, a "supporter of Arab unity and Arab independence" who organized with some of the most famous activists of his time. After university, he moved to the United States, and the rest is history, though he regreted leaving his homeland. He eventually married Joanne after Steve was adopted 10 months later and had Mona.  However he  left his wife and daughter at age 4 returning back to Syria.  Mona never forgave her father and had nothing to do with him.

Was it because he was a self absorbed, arrogant man who left his young daughter leaving her and her mother for ten years to return to Syria because he believed the culture was better than our country? It appears I have seen nothing published to answer my query. It was a mystery at 27 years old how Steve found his sister, Mona Simpson who later became a famous novelist.  Both brother and sister had nothing to do with their father. Mona took her last name from her mother's second husband

Through her, he found his biological mother who now is in a nursing home suffering from advanced dementia.  She is 79 years old and is unaware that Steve died. Below is a picture of Steve Jobs father, Abdulfattah John Jandali, with his mother Joanne Simpson who later remarried.
 
The reason I feel this is so tragic is he finally found his mother and doubt she was aware of her son's greatness and achievements. I read he took her to several events. But it is unknown the level of her health at that time
 
The happy part is finding a devoted sister catching up with all the years missed and having a loving relationship till the end.
 
Further, it is wonderful to accept his out of wedlock daughter, having a wonderful relationship with  her after so many years not accepting her.  Knowing how bad that was for him as an adopted child wondering who/where your biological parents are, surprises me that he took so long to get it right.
 
Nothing was mentioned how Steve Jobs adoptive parents passed away?
 
It is such a shame with all Steve Jobs money, he could not save his mother nor his life.
 
Your comments?

Biological parents Abdulfattah John Jandali and Joanne Simpson in the nursing home


Steve Jobs Biological Parents







2 comments:

joseph salowitz said...

Good Story Iris. His speech was inspiring, and, at the sme time, depressing, since his pancreatic cancer eventually returned and killed him. A year and a half ago, I was very involved in taking care of a woman, who eventually died from pancreatic cancer. Her husband was in the hospital with his own major illness, so I took it upon myself to help out as much as I could. Upon her death, her husband and son sat shiva in my home, because their entire family were "hoarders", and they were too embarrased to have anyone enter their own home. Of all cancers, pancreatic cancer is the one with a certainty of a fast and certain death. All this happened fairly soon after the death of my own father, so it was an emotionally upsetting experience for me. I try to keep his theme in my mind, all the time. "Live every day as though it might be the last one in your life-for someday you will be correct."

Anonymous said...

Actually, Steve found his sister and mother when he was in his late 20's, he had many years with the both of them. They accompanied him to many events, and he came out to Mona's book events throughout the years, with his bio mom. What I'd like to know is how his parents died, the ones that raised him and the only parents he ever claimed. I don't see any info about it. His mom was just 62 when she died...