With a Heavy Heart

One of my very first clients, Jack Gifford has passed away. He was a very fit person, working out regularly and still playing baseball with the young guys. He absolutely refused to play on an Over whatever age team. I'm in total shock that he died from a massive heart attack after retiring for the evening on his 68th birthday.

Jack came from humble beginnings in SoCal. He attended UCLA where he played baseball and graduated with an engineering degree. He moved to NorCal and helped shape the Silicon Valley. He used his intelligence (he was REALLY quick and sharp) and hard work (he was the definition of multi-tasker) to rise to the top of the business world. He's probably best known as the founder and CEO of Maxim Integrated Products.

Jack touched many lives, not always tenderly. I was fortunate to work with him for most of three decades. In the early years it was a brutal and frustrating experience, but I'm glad I stuck around, or that he put up with me. He was a demanding person, he demanded more than you thought you could deliver. Somehow he made us all better at what we do....he would not stand for anything less. The speakerphone was annoying, the red felt-tip pen markings (they really couldn't be called handwriting) made my eyes roll, and I've never seen so many staples used at one time.

I guess because his business was in Analog Devices, he was an analog guy in a digital world. He still actually hand wrote checks, reviewed the front and back of every cleared check, and refused to set up auto-pays or use email! Just a couple of weeks ago he had an estimated tax payment due, and I told him I could pay it for him electronically......I thought he'd go nuts, but he said okay.....he could surprise....perhaps it was the purchase of his IPhone.

He began to soften as the grandchildren arrived over the past 17 years. He took more time to become involved in the lives of young people. His Foundation has given many scholarships to student athletes, sponsored little league baseball clinics in Hawaii (some of the kids were in the Little League World Series), sponsored college golf tournaments, built college baseball stadiums, improved playing fields, paid for radio programs for local colleges.

And he was more impressed with his grandchildren than with any professional ball player, celebrity, or business person he might know. I never knew him to boast, and he had plenty to boast about.

It's a huge loss for everyone who knows him. It was a tremendous honor to work with him, and yes even to be taken to task on many occasions. He is really missed.

My heart aches for his wonderful wife, Rhodine, their three daughters and son-in-laws, and the 11 grandchildren.