Silicon Valley, celebrities pay tribute to Steve Jobs

Silicon Valley luminaries, politicians and celebrities were among the several hundred people at a private memorial service for late Apple Inc co-founder and tech visionary Steve Jobs on Sunday.

Guests arrived in dozens of black limousines and walked up a path lighted by hundreds of large white candles to Memorial Church in the heart of Stanford University's campus. The event was heavily patrolled by police and security and walled off to the public.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who took the helm of the world's largest technology corporation in August when the industry icon declared he could no longer lead Apple, walked up to the chapel with a man dressed in the garb of a Buddhist monk.

Maria Shriver, estranged wife of former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and U2 frontman Bono stopped to exchange words with others in the courtyard before heading in. Apple software chief Scott Forstall, former President Bill Clinton and News Corp Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller were also among those in attendance.

In memorandum

Jobs died last week at the age of 56 after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. The visionary inspired iconic products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, which made him one of the most significant industry leaders of his generation.

Jobs had struggled with health issues but said very little about his battle with cancer since an operation in 2004. When he stepped down in August, handing the CEO reins to long-time operations chief Tim Cook, Jobs said simply that he could no longer fulfill his duties as chief executive.

Jobs' Sunday memorial -- days after a small private funeral service -- comes after the iPhone 4S last week smashed sales records for Apple and some of its carrier partners such as AT&T Inc and Sprint (S.N). Employees will hold a separate celebration of his life on Oct 19 at company headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino.

Reuters