Steve Jobs' last words from Mona Simpson's eulogy

Apple

(CBS) - Nearly a month after the death of Steve Jobs, many of us are still reflecting on his life and legacy.

The Sunday New York Times published the eulogy delivered on Oct. 16 by Steve Jobs' sister, Mona Simpson, at his memorial service at the Memorial Church of Stanford University.

"I want to tell you a few things I learned from Steve, during three distinct periods, over the 27 years I knew him. They're not periods of years, but of states of being. His full life. His illness. His dying," said Simpson in her eulogy.

Steve Jobs: Revelations from a tech giant
Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011

Some of the things she learned from him was the conscious effort that Jobs put into everything he did in life. She would write that he was "never embarrassed to work hard." Simpson wrote of how Jobs was never ashamed of failure. And how her brother "cultivated whimsy."

"He tried. He always, always tried, and always with love at the core of that effort," said Simpson. She shared the story of how of Jobs learned to walk again, following his liver transplant.

The stories that Mona Simpson shared of her brother are a sweet tribute and give us an intimate glimpse into a softer side of Jobs.

Describing what she learned from his passing, Simpson said, "death didn't happen to Steve, he achieved it."

While he's rapidly becoming a legend on par with the likes of John Lennon or Benjamin Franklin, Simpson's eulogy reminds us that Jobs was only a man. It was the effort Jobs put into life that enabled him to reach great heights.

Steve Jobs' final words were, "OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW."

Simpson is a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles and writer of the novel "Anywhere But Here."

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Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011

[ArenalineJunky]

I dunno, seems far more likely to me that he was in pain and just saying "Owww Owww Owww" instead of "Oh Wow Oh Wow Oh Wow".

Just saying.

[Transatlantique]

Were these his final words before his last breath, or just to her the day before? This needs more explanation. He couldn't have felt very great, unless he was on good drugs.

Speaking of drugs, it was not a good thing to be revealed that he had taken LSD in his past. That is a dangerous drug that can have negative impact on a persons mind, and I fear that some young kid will try it because he or she heard that Jobs took it, and end up in a psych ward.

[rktsci3127]

"OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW." <~~~ He must have seen Darwin.

[silvalgal]

Mona Simpson's adoring eulogy to her beloved brother, Steve Jobs, shares a few tender glimpses into his personal and private side that were altogether absent in Walter Isaacson's lengthy, authorized biographical account of the high tech prince. It is heartening to discover that Patty, the slightly younger, adopted sister Jobs grew up with, was there at his bedside, at the end, a part of the family. Readers of Isaacson's chunky tome wondered about Patty, who was relegated to a few quick, cold comments and no quotes -- a gaping hole among many in the authorized bio of Steve Jobs.
Mona Simpson's eulogy burnishes and enshrines the magical reality of Steve Jobs.

[silvalgal]

Mona Simpson's adoring eulogy to her beloved brother, Steve Jobs, shares a few tender glimpses into his personal and private side that were altogether absent in Walter Isaacson's lengthy, authorized biographical account of the high tech prince. It is heartening to discover that Patty, the slightly younger, adopted sister Jobs grew up with, was there at his bedside, at the end, a part of the family. Readers of Isaacson's chunky tome wondered about Patty, who was relegated to a few quick, cold comments and no quotes &#8212; a gaping hole among many in the authorized bio of Steve Jobs.
Mona Simpson's eulogy burnishes and enshrines the magical reality of Steve Jobs.