Thomas Lowther; Computer Marketing Pioneer

Thomas Lowther, 85, computer marketing pioneer and founder of two companies. A native of Pittsburgh, he was first introduced to IBM’s “tabulating machine” in the late 1920s and quickly embarked on what became a 43-year career with the company. In the early 1950s, he was ridiculed by outsiders for co-producing a film about the future of computers, “Direct Line to Decision.” A colleague estimated that Lowther in his lifetime “sold more IBM products than anybody else in the world.” Lowther founded Land Title Insurance Co., now a part of Chicago Title. He also helped create WCT Financial, parent of World Title Co. and World Tax Service, and served on its board from the time of its founding in 1980. On Monday in Hollywood of cancer.