Date Of Birth: July 7, 1931
Date Of Death: March 3, 2012

Lawrence A. “Larry” Welke, who in the mid-1960s became the world’s first publisher dedicated to the newborn software industry, died March 3 of complications from a long battle with cancer. Welke’s efforts to unite the struggling software merchants, both in the pages of his journals and in a trade association, gave them an early voice to defend the industry against predatory competitive practices by IBM Corp. and others. Leaders of the early software industry dubbed Welke “The father of the software industry.”

Born in Thiensville, WI in 1931, Larry Welke earned his BS in economics in 1954 at Marquette University. He worked most notably in computer sales for IBM before starting International Computer Programs, Inc. (ICP) in 1966 in Indianapolis. He recognized there was an underground market of early buyers and sellers, and calculated it would be enormous. His first periodical, published in January 1967, was the ICP Quarterly, which described 50 vendors and 110 software products. By 1975, the ICP Software Directory vendor community had reached 800 and the number of products 3,000. A decade later there were 10,000 software products, and software was the most vital industry in all of computing.

Until 1978, Welke was virtually alone in publishing software information. In these formative years, he also helped found the Software Industry Association section of the Association of Data Processing Service Organization (ADAPSO, known today as the Information Technology Association of America, ITAA). He was elected its president in the mid-1980s. In 1975, Welke began publishing the first of what would become 10 magazines geared to different software markets.

He traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and even Africa to give software sales training seminars. His book, The End of Selling as We Know It – An Executive’s Guide to Customer Creation, is still read by businesses of all kinds. In his later years, he started Children Without Limits, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to engaging inner city youth in the new communication technologies involving video.

An avid runner, he ran the Chicago Marathon at ages 60 through 65. He played tennis and skied, loved hot air ballooning and flying kites, negotiated the occasional class 4 river, was an avid reader and writer, loved good wine and was a loving and adventuresome soul with a great passion for life.

Welke always kept his famous sense of humor and greeted everyone with a smile. He is survived by daughters, Paula Kren of Martinez, CA and Anna Welke of St. Louis, MO; his grandchildren, Eileen and Daniel of St. Louis, MO; and stepson, Beau Elliot of Peru, IN.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to the kind people at Manor Care Summer Trace in Carmel for their care and compassion these past few months and to his faithful friends. He will be greatly missed.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held in July in honor of what would have been his 81st birthday. Contact Paula Kren at paula.kren@nmfn.com for details.