When The Rheumatologist profiled Dr. Sharp’s contribution to radiographic scoring in rheumatology in its first issue, he often joked that he appreciated an “obituary before I passed.”
Dr. Sharp was the most decent and kind of men. He was respectful of all of his colleagues, even when he disagreed with them. He treated all equally, regardless of their experience or status. He strove to see the good in people. But he was not without deeply felt opinions, particularly with respect to the environment and social justice.
Désirée van der Heijde, MD, PhD, professor of rheumatology at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands, recalls how excited she was, as a young researcher, to meet Dr. Sharp for the first time at the ACR Annual Meeting. “Meeting him, as the great man in this field, was wonderful for me. He always wants to show his development of the score as just an ordinary thing which he had done,” she says. “And he’s also very willing to share everything. He never kept things for himself—he’s willing to share credits and new developments.”
Jane Angwin, MA, a research associate at GlaxoSmithKline, wrote, “At an early (for me) ACR conference, John asked me to join him for tea. I was very junior and full of trepidation but John set me at ease. To my surprise, he said he wanted to thank me for explaining a mistake in one of his papers. He was grateful to me and had invited me so that he could say thank you! (It was nothing compared to what he taught me!) No politics—but honor, integrity, and generosity!”
Jim O’Dell, MD, vice chair of internal medicine and chief of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, was one of Dr. Sharp’s fellows and later one of his collaborators. Dr. O’Dell wrote, “He was a true gentleman and had a tremendous impact on the field of rheumatology and maybe more importantly on many careers including mine. … I will always remember how patient he was with all of us struggling would-be Sharp readers (many of us were not so sharp! … but, of course, John would never say that). … I called him [toward the end], and although he was not feeling well, he graciously took my call. We had a chance to tie up the loose ends for a study but, more importantly, I got a chance to thank him for all he had done for rheumatology and me. I will always treasure that last call. He was upbeat and inspirational to the end. He will long be remembered.”
