BOISE, ID – About four thousand people turned out Thursday to honor the life of former Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton. He died in a plane crash earlier this month.
Most who came to honor Steve Appleton were Micron workers. They filled the floor and first tier of seats at Boise State’s Taco Bell arena. Seven speakers sat in front of them on a raised stage decorated with plants and flowers. Micron’s President Mark Adams welcomed the crowd.
Mark Adams: “We are fortunate today to have a collection of friends who will share their experience with Steve from many different parts of his life along his incredible journey.”
Those friends included Idaho Governor Butch Otter, Boise State’s President Bob Kustra, and new Micron CEO Mark Durcan. For the next ninety minutes, they each recounted personal stories involving Appleton. Governor Otter said Appleton was a man of few words. So if he were alive today, Otter would say these words to him:
Gov. Butch Otter: “Husband and father, legendary, businessman, a leader, innovator, Edison-esque, friend, golden. Thank you”
Otter also could have said self-made man. A snippet from a video that closed the service showed Appleton talking with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo about his first job at Micron.
Steve Appleton: “I started at $4.46 an hour working graveyard shift in production.”
Since he started in 1983, Appleton rose to Chairman and CEO of the memory chip company. Greg Patton is Boise State’s tennis coach. Appleton, who played for the team three decades ago, helped mentor some of Patton’s players. Patton remembered Appleton’s love for adventure.
Greg Patton: “He seized the moment. He lived life at the most heightened state of being ever. And you know what? I think for everybody who knew him, the beauty is you got to soar with him.”
Outside of work, Appleton was known as a philanthropist and a bit of a daredevil. He raced off-road cars and flew high performance planes. He died in one of those planes at the age of fifty-one at the Boise Airport.
Copyright 2012 Boise State University