In Memoriam: John Sharkey

John Patrick Sharkey, 77, a Washington Post assistant foreign editor from 1967 to 1994 and for many years the chief copy editor for that section, died Oct. 12 at his home in Washington. He had lung cancer.

Mr. Sharkey had a reputation among his colleagues as a meticulous editor with broad cultural knowledge. He also was known for devising a collection of first paragraphs that played into the cliches of foreign reportage.