It sounds as if this was a very dignified and private memorial for a man who would have hated the thought of a memorial service that turned into a spectacle.

It's very sad that our neighbor, a truly important and innovative individual, died way too young.

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Just a prediction here: Stanford oh so generously gets the idea to offer MemChu for Mr. Jobs' memorial and places themselves conveniently in a position to seek a donation from Mrs. Jobs.
Steve Jobs WAS a significant ...business leader, but he personally was not a Stanford grad etc. Please, Mrs. Jobs, donate in the name of Mr. Jobs to more deserving and needy entities (educational or otherwise). Thank you.

I would like to express my belief that Steve Jobs WAS the "A-List", and if his wife and family wished to plan and carry out an "exclusive A-list party" to honor him - midst all the other tributes - they certainly had the right to do so.

At risk of sounding flippant, I feel that the mean spirited resident of the "Downtown North neighborhood" who wrote the letter above should "Get a Life". The "Hovering helicopter" disturbed your Sunday afternoon for over an hour? Awwww - poor baby!

Joan Mather - Los Altos

Even Steve Jobs would say "OK enough, get on with your life".

I do not understand why my post was deleted as it did not violate any terms of service. Is it such heresy to say anything negative about anything even associated with Steve Jobs?

Based on the number of complaints I heard from many people, I expect that thousands of residents had their Sundays disturbed. Some friends were holding (quiet) backyard parties that were essentially ruined. But if those parties had become noisy, the police would have been called. Why is one kind of noise illegal and an even louder and more jarring noise acceptable?

Why not be considerate of the residents of Palo Alto and Menlo Park?

I totally commiserate w/Still Kicking's complaint re noise. But that's not the Jobs' family fault. It also makes total sense to me that there was a big to do in memory of him - that seems very fitting. But, I guess, it's like when Apple products debut locals lives can be disrupted, although usually it's by the traffic at Apple Stores & tripping over those in line outside. I'm just glad the helicopter was just an hour, as annoying as it was.

Steve, I miss you dearly. You've been an iconic figure and a hero. Its a shame that someone like you has to be taken- so early and at such young age. I respect you, your vision, your innovations, your family, your funeral, your construction in Wood Side, ... with everything you've brought for this nation, and as humble of a person as you have been, the least we can do is to keep quiet in the honer of your life.

Jobs was a Buddhist--we have a Buddhist Temple in Palo Alto on Louis next to Ohlone--which can accommodate thousands

--they have a festival with that number every August.

Why was the event not held at that location

Stanford Memorial Church is Christian non denominational and reserved for members of the Stanford Community--staff, alumni and faculty.

Also their are conflicting reports--did Robert Murdoch and Bill Gates attend the event or not?

Who paid for the massive security for this event?

We hope PA and US taxpayers do not get stuck with the bill.

Looks like steve jobs is being "sharoned". Memorial church is available for weddings and other events for non-stanford people. So much for the facts. This was private security, no government involved. Why does it matter to sharon where the ceremony was held? Why is sharon trying to stir the pot again?

A man dies way too young. He leaves behind grieving family members, best friends, colleagues, neighbors.....His contributions in shaping the world we live in today were enormous, unique, and unfathomable to most people.
It scares me a little that fellow Palo Altans are commenting about money and noise and why wasn't this location picked, or that one? What message does this send to out-of-town readers? Who must they think we are? Steve Jobs is dead and his fellow citizens choose to write about how his death disrupted their day, or made them suspicious of the University or hurt their feelings because their site wasn't chosen for a memorial.
I'd like to think of us more as a, "We're so sorry for your loss." And, "To you, the family, you have our deepest sympathies at this sad time" type of town. A place where empathy was still practiced and some things, like life, or loss of it, were still sacred.

@Puh-leeze very well said and right on.

I completely agree with Puh-leeze.

Those other whiners should be ashamed of themselves.

Desecration

wait - I thought we were told via official news media sources no memorial was planned and Mr. Jobs clearly had a lot of time to make his wishes known.
This thing about Stanford offering MemChu came up JUST now and I think it will be expedient for THEM.
I agree a Buddhist Temple might have been a more suitable venue - IF Mr. Jobs had requested a memorial - however they don't have the dollar signs in their eyes like Stanford.
Look, Mr. Jobs leaves billions - mark my words, in a few months there will be a quiet announcement (or maybe not announced) of 100M donated to Stanford. I reiterate there are NUMEROUS more deserving and needy potential recipients out there - educational institutions or not - they just aren't sophisticated enough to do this kind of opportunistic seeking of a major donation as Stanford.

Sharon/neighbor are wrong. Steve Jobs is not a Buddhist, so the Buddhist temple in PA is a non-issue--made to stir the pot.

Web Link
""I wouldn't say Steve Jobs was a practicing Buddhist," said Robert Thurman, a professor of Buddhist studies at Columbia University, who met Jobs and his "Tibetan buddies" in the 1980s in San Francisco."

What a bunch of bitter, nasty people who complain about a memorial service at Stanford! Gee, what about the disruption of FOOTBALL games on Saturday? I personally resent not being able to travel exactly where I want to, WHEN I want to during Stanford home football games. I think Stanford shouldn't be ALLOWED to have home football games because I would be inconvenienced.

Get a life, people. I am beginning to really hate this place after 25 years of living here, listening to wealthy people whine.

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

According to The Stanford Daily there was a huge presence of Secret Service agents @ Stanford Sundays event--that costs US taxpayers.

There was also a huge presence of State and Local Law Enforcement.

that costs taxpayers--enough is enough

If Apple wants to rent Memorial Church for an event -- fine

Apple should also pay for all related security costs--they have $ 90 Billion in the bank

-- they can afford it and should pay

--rather than US and local taxpayers.

Stanford Football brings a lot of money and business to Palo Alto

--the related security costs are paid for and managed entirely by Stanford.

One could easily argue with Sharon (easy on many levels!). But first and foremost, Jobs and his wife pay taxes. The Apple Store in PA brings in revenue, pays rent, and - let's not forget the many parking tickets that the customers and employees likely pay. Oh yeah, what about the attendees at the memorial who stayed in local hotels & ate meals locally, increasing revenue?

But moreover, when she's Sharonizing, Sharon looooooves to act like it's only Demos that cost tax payers $$ in security. She of course never pays attention to other monies for extra security incurred by Repubs and people she admires.

Finally, if she was truly concerned, she'd quit blogging about it & write letters or get on the phone to the right people.

Well said, hmmm. Sharon is "sharoning" steve jobs. The secret service was probably present because the Clintons, gore and condi rice, among others were present. But why bother with facts. Not sure why sharon is beating this latest drum. Some people ignore what jobs contributed to society and to our tax coffers from their products- instead they are consumed by jealousy over their accomplishments. This is not the first time that this kind of security has been used at stanford. Instead of being proud of having stanford in our backyard some engage in petty complaints.
.

The discussion is over maybe... Church: it's there when you want that kind of atmosphere? Electronics: nice to cherish, nice to not think about "life" at Foxconn or resource wars in Congo?

Steve Jobs is dead. Gone forever. He was a great marketer of mass media products. He did not envent fire, the wheel, the internal combustion engine, or the airplane. He was not Copernicus, Galieo, Newton, Leonardo, or Einstein. RIP, Steve. RIP.

Who are you people?? Steve Jobs' son is freshman at Stanford; his wife is an alumna of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. Yes, it's perfectly acceptable, appropriate, allowable that his memorial service take place there.

Shame on you!!

lindaloo

Anyone can rent Memorial Church for a wedding or memorial event--as long as it is dignified -- it is a Christian Church.

The legitimate question is --who pays for the $ millions in security costs?

Apple should pay all those local, state and federal security costs because it was an Apple PR event.

They could have rented Stanford Stadium for the event and allowed the 99% to attend--they could have charged admission for the non elite

Apple should still have to pay for all security costs unless the profit for Stanford was enough to cover those costs.

The biographer will be on 60 minutes on Sunday--that event is covered by advertising revenue for the TV stations.

Apple should not get free PR events at the expense of the taxpayers--fair is fair.

Jobs is dead and buried @ Alta Mesa--RIP

Previously you stated that memorial church is only for stanford people. Now you are saying something different. We have given the reasons for the presence of the secret service. Unless you can provide solid evidence for the security costs you are ranting and raving about why don't you give out a rest. Stop "sharoning" steve jobs!

What about when the heads of other prestigious companies get ill or die - their funerals are PR events too, right, Sharon?

Sheesh, if it's not her boyfriend Mark Hurd that the article is focusing on, look how bent out of shape she gets!

Stanford & Apple don't answer to Sharon, so they don't have to go into the costs associated w/the memorial service. It doesn't matter if the even was held at a church or not. It also clearly doesn't matter to Sharon that there were notable REPUBLICANS who attended & benefitted from the security.

So many more important things to get upset about re how our taxes are spent.

Who wants to bet Sharon will go trick or treating at the Jobs' residence & report on what the family is up to?