Hillsboro's Intel Remembers Guiding Light

"Andy made the impossible happen, time and again, and inspired generations of technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders."

That's Intel CEO Brian Krzanich talking about Andy Grove, the company leader who died this week.

Grove was so well associated with the company that many people assumed he started the company.

While he didn't, he was the first person hired by the company.

Grove was born Andras Grof in Budapest and moved to the United States in 1957 after having survived Nazi occupation and Soviet repression.

He studied chemical engineering at the City College of New York, an experience he was so grateful for that he later gave $26 million to help the college establish the Grove School of Engineering.

After getting his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, he went to work at Fairchild Semiconductor.

When some of the leaders left there to start Intel in 1968, Grove was the first person they hired.

Over the years, he worked his way up, becoming president in 1979, CEO in 1987, and chairman of the board in 1997.

He helped the company grow from having revenues of $1.9 billion to more than $26 billion.

He leaves behind his wife, Eva, to whom they were married for almost 60 years, and two daughters and eight grandchildren.