Apple Inc.’s co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died in his home Oct. 5 after a long bout with pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant. His family released a statement the same day saying “Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.” Jobs is survived by his wife Laurene, one son, and three daughters.

After news of the death became public, Apple’s website also released a statement about Jobs which read:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will be forever in the foundation of Apple.

Jobs’s death came as a surprise to many, at only 56 years of age.

“Jobs might be the most important innovator of our time,” said history teacher Mr. McNeil. As the co-founder of Apple, Jobs was very involved in the computer age in Silicon Valley that characterized the technological advances of the 1980s. He headed the multi-billion dollar corporation through revolutionary projects like the Mac computer in 1984, the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and in 2010, the iPad. In addition to his contributions to Apple, Jobs was also involved in Disney’s computer graphics division Pixar from 1986-2004.

In the days since his death, Jobs has been heralded as “Henry Ford and Walt Disney all rolled into one” according to the Huffington Post, and fans of Jobs posted about his death through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook with hashtags like “#iSad.”

“It sucks that there aren’t going to be as many advances as there have been lately,” said senior Caitlyn O’Hara. The future of the company has been in question since summer when Jobs officially resigned. Jobs had retired from his position as Apple’s CEO Aug. 25 of this year and announced that he needed time to take care of his health and be with his family.

“What’s inspiring about Steve Jobs is that he shows how someone can influence the way people live,” said English teacher Mr. Lynch. Jobs’s journey from orphan to multi-billionaire CEO has fascinated the international social network community. “I would hope that young people affected by it know that they can invent things that change the world.”