Much has been written in the past few days on the passing of Steve Jobs. I won’t try to add to the important things already said, and to what will no doubt be sorted out by historians in the years to come.

What I will say is this: I feel like I lost a best friend and mentor that I never actually met.

I’ve spent the last several days stunned by how sad I’ve felt, how many times I have recalled my memories of what he accomplished. Memories of teared-up eyes on a pimpled teenager, watching “Think Different” air on network television, how perfectly it summed up how those of us hanging on to a beleaguered Apple still felt about the company, how prophetic it would be about what was to come.

Memories of lining up for a keynote at MacWorld in New York, watching from the back of the room as Steve the consummate showman unveiled the iBook and WiFi for the rest of us. A visit to Cupertino, to 1 Infinite Loop to see where it all happened.

But mostly, memories of how slowly but surely he became the biggest influence on my short professional career. His ability to say no, to subtract as much as he added. To hire people smarter than he was, then push them harder than anyone to create something not just technologically brilliant, but more importantly, something profoundly human.

I know I will try to distill this as my memory of Steve Jobs. I also know that to impart something of who he was to my children will be no small task.

I will miss you Steve, more than I ever knew I would.

Danny Chapman