Founder of Adobe, Developer of PDF‘s Dead At 81

Charles “Chuck” Geschke, the co-founder of Adobe who helped develop the PDF, has died at age 81, the company said in a statement. 

“This is a huge loss for the entire Adobe community and the technology industry, for whom he has been a guide and hero for decades,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen wrote in an email to employees. 

“As co-founders of Adobe, Chuck and John Warnock developed groundbreaking software that has revolutionized how people create and communicate,” said Narayen.

“Chuck instilled a relentless drive for innovation in the company, resulting in some of the most transformative software inventions, including the ubiquitous PDF, Acrobat, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Photoshop.”

"We’re deeply saddened to share that our beloved co-founder, Dr Chuck Geschke, has passed away. Chuck was a hero and guiding light for so many of us in the technology industry. He leaves an indelible mark on our company and the world."

“He was a famous businessman, the founder of a major company in the U.S. and the world, and of course he was very, very proud of that and it was a huge achievement in his life, but it wasn’t his focus — really, his family was,” Geschke’s wife, Nancy, told the Mercury News on Saturday. “He always called himself the luckiest man in the world.”

Geschke is survived by his wife Nancy, who he was married to for 56 years, three children and seven grandchildren.