Steve Jobs Died at Home of Respiratory Arrest

By Karen Gullo - Oct 11, 2011 11:01 AM GMT+0700

Steve Jobs’s death certificate shows he died at home in Palo Alto, California, of respiratory arrest caused by a pancreatic tumor at about 3 p.m. on Oct. 5. His occupation was listed as “entrepreneur” in the “high tech” business.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department in San Jose, California, issued the document yesterday, listing respiratory arrest as the immediate cause of death, with “metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor” as the underlying cause. There was no autopsy performed.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced Oct. 5 that Jobs, 56, died without providing any details about the time and place. The iconic chief executive officer of the iPhone maker resigned his position Aug. 24. He had been diagnosed in 2003 with a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of pancreatic cancer, and underwent a liver transplant in 2009.

Jobs was buried at a non-denominational cemetery in Santa Clara County on Oct. 7. The name of the person who filled out the certificate was blacked out.

Apple unveiled the latest version of its iPhone, the product that accounts for almost half of the company’s sales, on Oct. 4, the day before his death.

The company had notified the Palo Alto, California, police department a few days before his death that Jobs was expected to die. The police department sought to be made aware so it could have patrols ready in case large numbers of mourners gathered at Jobs’s home, Sandra Brown, a spokeswoman for the department, said last week.

Apple declined to comment on the death certificate, spokesman Steve Dowling said yesterday.

The company is planning an event on Oct. 19 to honor Jobs for employees, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said yesterday in an e-mail to employees.

“I have experienced the saddest days of my lifetime and shed many tears during the past week,” Cook said in the note, which was posted on the website 9to5Mac.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.