Like many, Glock of Clovis wasn't stunned when she first heard of Jobs' passing. "But I knew enough about him to know that when he gave up the reigns of the company at the end of August, that he had to have known that his time was limited," said Glock.
The 77-year-old met Jobs when she began working at Apple while in her early forties. "Being in the right place at the right time, when I was looking for a job, found an ad on the paper and thought, 'What is a personal computer?'"
Unfamiliar with computers, Glock started out as a secretary during Apple's infancy in 1979. When she joined the company in Cupertino, Jobs was Apple's Vice President of Product Marketing at only 24 years of age.
"He was very young at the time and still had an awful lot to learn," said Glock. "I always thought of him as a cheerleader and a showman because he knew how to motivate people and how to make people think they had to have something whether they did or didn't."
Steve Jobs marveled many with launch events introducing the latest tech gadgets. Glock never imagined Apple would grow to become the world's leading tech company.
"It's just utterly amazing how many people have computers and iPhones and iPad and iPods," said Glock. She even has her very own iPod that she jams to everyday. And although she is saddened about Jobs' passing, Glock recounts a fond memory when she baked him a birthday cake in the shape of the Apple logo.
"The first time I made it, no one had ever done that before and so he was kind of impressed but he didn't want me to think too much of it. So he came out to my desk and he says, 'JoAnn, that cake was really great but the colors aren't quite right, so keep working on it. You'll get it.'"
That apple image is something she holds dear. Glock has apple decorations throughout her house, which serves as a constant reminder of the company she loves.
As for Jobs' well-known fashion shortfalls, Glock told me Jobs once went to a Porsche dealer to buy a car but was turned away because he was dressed in a T-shirt and ripped jeans. So he ended up buying a Mercedes instead.
