Frank T. Cary, former IBM chair and life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation, died Jan. 1 at his home in Darien, Conn. He was 85.
Cary spent his entire career at IBM, where he started as a marketing representative and eventually served as president, chair, chief executive officer and director. He retired from IBM in 1991.
Cary joined the MIT Corporation in 1974, was elected a life member in 1984 and became a life member emeritus in 1983. He served on the Investment Committee from 1975 to 1991, the committee for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and several visiting committees, including Libraries, Earth Sciences and Architecture and Planning.
He also served on the boards of several corporations, including ABC, J.P. Morgan, Texaco and Merck, and of several nonprofits, including the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller University.
Born in Gooding, Idaho, Cary earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1943 and an M.B.A. from Stanford in 1948.
He is survived by his wife, Anne (Curtis) Cary; three sons, Steven and Bryan of Darien, Conn., and Marshall of Bangor, Me.; a daughter, Laura, of Burlington; and 12 grandchildren.
Donations may be made to the Family and Children's Agency Inc., 9 Mott Ave., Norwalk, CT 06850.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 25, 2006 (download PDF).
