John F. Gifford

John F. (Jack) Gifford Jan. 11, 1941 - Jan. 11, 2009 It is with great sadness that John F. Gifford passed away unexpectedly on his birthday, January 11, 2009, at his family home in Hawaii. After spending a beautiful sunset with his wife, Rhodine, he suffered a fatal heart attack. Jack was born on January 11, 1941, in Torrance, California. He attended Phineas Banning High School in Wilmington, California, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Rhodine, at the age of eighteen. He attended UCLA on a baseball scholarship. Jack received a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering in 1963 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He started his career in the semiconductor industry in 1964 with Fairchild Semiconductor where he later became the company's first Director of Analog Products. In 1968, Jack co-founded Advanced Micro Devices and remained Vice President of Marketing & Planning, until he left to become Senior Vice President, then President/CEO, of Intersil, Inc. Jack is considered to be one of the "founding fathers" of the analog industry. Jack retired as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc in early 2007. A founder of Maxim, Jack served as Chairman since 1991, after serving as the company's President since its incorporation in April 1983. At the end of fiscal year 2007, Maxim had over 10,000 employees and reported revenues of $2.01 billion. Jack's agricultural upbringing and avid interest in technology led him into a variety of other business activities. He is founder and President of J. Leal Farms and founder and President of Enslie Industries. In 1990, he was elected to the UCLA Baseball Hall of Fame. Other inductees include Jackie Robinson, Dr. Bobby Brown, Kenny Washington, Mike Gallego, Tim Leary, Todd Zeile and Don Slaught. He considers this honor a highlight of his career. Jack was nominated for National Entrepreneur of the Year by Arthur Young in 1988. In 1992, Jack was named the 1991 Alumnus of the Year of the UCLA College of Engineering. He was the Commencement Speaker at the 1992 UCLA College of Engineering graduation ceremonies. In 2001, Jack was named CEO of the Year by Electronic Business Magazine. In 2004, Jack was the oldest baseball player to participate in the NBC World Series (August 2004 was the 70th anniversary of the series). In 2005, Jack was named America's Best Semiconductor Industry CEO by Institutional Investor Magazine. In 2007, Jack was the Commencement Speaker at the University of Hawaii graduation ceremonies and received The Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. In 2008, Jack was a recipient of the Special Service Award from the Santa Clara County, Hot Stove Baseball Society, for his support of college baseball. He was also a board member of the Stanford Cardio-Vascular Institute. Active in numerous scholastic and charitable activities involving children and education, Jack contributed to the University of California Hall of Science Lower Education Program, The Betty Kanuha Foundation and is a co-founder of the East Palo Alto Education and Tennis Foundation (EPATT). His background in science and athletics has convinced him that youth exposed to athletics will succeed in life if education is properly emphasized. This led him to establish Hawai'i's Kalaeiki Baseball Youth Clinic. Some 350 Hawai'i youth, free of charge, attend the four-day clinic annually, featuring volunteer coaches from the major leagues and eight Division I universities, including UCLA, Stanford and Hawai'i. The overall aim of these efforts is to focus youth on the value of Math and English education in lower income area schools in Hawaii and in California. Recently, Jack sponsored the building of the Jack Gifford Baseball Training Facility at UCLA. This is a 10,500 square foot, state-of-the-art baseball training facility, modeled after the Stanford facility. He was so proud of this facility and how it would contribute to the UCLA baseball program. It is scheduled to be dedicated on February 6, 2009. Jack was an amazing husband, father and grandfather. His family always came first and foremost in his life. Jack greatly enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren. He was an active participant in their lives and was their biggest fan. Jack was so proud of each and every one of them. Words cannot describe how sorely he will be missed. Jack is survived by his wife, Rhodine of 49 years. Rhodine was his best friend, confidant and love of his life. He had three wonderful daughters and their husbands, Laural and Kevin Lynch, Tracy and Cameron Jones, and Jacquelyn and Rick Disney. He also leaves behind eleven adoring grandchildren, Matthew, Claudia, David, Zachary, Travis, Shelby, Kezia, Jack, Annika, Malia and Luke. A beautiful traditional Hawaiian memorial service, held for his many local island friends, took place outdoors on the Mauna Kea grounds in Hawaii, on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. A local memorial service for friends and family is planned for Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 2 PM at the Stanford Memorial Church in Palo Alto, California. A reception will follow at the Sharon Heights Country Club, in Menlo Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests considering a donation to one of the following organizations, which Jack supported: The Gifford Foundation - Provides college scholarships to deserving students The Kalaeiki Baseball Youth Clinic in Kailua-Kona- Provides free baseball instruction to children. East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutorial (E.P.A.T.T.) - Promotes leadership, discipline, hard work and excellence to youth. It enriches the academic, athletic and social skills of its participants. All donations should be sent to the address below: c/o Candy Flett, 2440 Sand Hill Road, Suite 400, Menlo Park, CA 94025.