I feel compelled tonight to join in the chorus of sadness over the passing of Steve Jobs. It is a rare event that a single person can touch so many lives and as a result we all share the loss. It is also sobering to see the truth of the fact that no matter what our station or accomplishments in life, death is an inevitability.

There is some well worn material circulating on Jobs, especially his commencement address at Stanford. But it seems like Jobs pops up everywhere if you read about technology at length and every encounter describes a gifted, obsessed and brilliant man.

One of the more inspirational encounters that I’m not sure will get as much airtime is Jobs legacy at Pixar. Jobs bought Pixar in 1986, long before the success of Toy Story and supported the company for many rough years as they sought to find an identity and become successful. Jobs could see their vision and their success, even when others like George Lucas had given up on them. Now we all revel in the success of Pixar but it was a 9 year journey before Toy Story achieved box office success. Those 9 years, all the ups and downs, were tempered by a vision of what could be; what would be.

As the obituaries are written about Jobs, the genius, the thought leader, the innovator, my thoughts will dwell on how the innovation was less in the day that he walked on stage in jeans and a black turtleneck and more in the times like his 9 years of keeping Pixar on life support because he believed in the work they were doing.

I will always be inspired by that. Thank you Steve Jobs.