Born and raised in Concord, MA, he was the youngest of the three sons of Dr. Francis Cabot Lowell and Elizabeth Shurcliff Lowell.  His father, former chief of the allergy unit at Mass General Hospital, Boston was involved in research and teaching.  His mother was an active member of the League of Women Voters and was actively involved in Concord’s town planning.  Tom’s education included the Fenn School of Concord, Milton Academy, Concord-Carlisle High School and Marlboro College. 

A sailor, skier, pilot, inventor, builder, tinkerer, an avid reader and a family man, you could find Tom flying a plane to Oshkosh, skiing the Vermont hills, or sailing the Belize coastline.  He was always busy starting a project and finishing just as many.  One of his first big projects as a teenager was a complete rebuild of a Willy’s Jeep.  Among his many other projects, Tom made toys to demonstrate sailing to children, a go-kart for his son, a special hand-held sail to use when ice-skating. He and a neighbor built a rope tow for the neighborhood kids to use when skiing and snowboarding. Innumerable cars, a few boats and a 1957 Cessna were restored, mostly in his home garage. With his lifelong friend Jim Young, he co-designed his much-acclaimed super insulated house. Although perpetually busy with projects, he was always willing to pause for pleasant conversation.  He loved chatting with friends and strangers alike.  One of Tom’s last projects in 2014 was again, a complete rebuild of another Willy’s Jeep. 

In business Tom was an inventor, machinist, engineer entrepreneur and consultant.  At Appropriate Technology, Tom the VP of Operations, worked with Mike Mross, the VP of Research. They developed the Window Quilt insulating window shade and all the techniques and machinery used in it’s manufacturing.  Later Tom and his wife Ellen built the original West River Marina and together ran this popular restaurant in Brattleboro until its sale to the current owners.  After launching the restaurant, he was recruited by his former business partner and friend Mike, to join him in starting up Vermont Photonics, a distributor of high-precision optical testing equipment. These three startups continue today. 

Tom also served on the board of the Compass School in Westminster VT.