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# Consulting Editor John Scharmann Dead at 84
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/consulting-editor-john-scharmann-dead-at-84/
- Published: 2016-08-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T21:21:08.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5136396

Former ***FDA Webview*** consulting editor and longtime FDA stalwart **John H. Scharmann** died in hospice care 8/3 at the age of 84, after a lengthy, valiant battle with kidney disease. He leaves his devoted wife **Marlene**, daughter **Beth** and son **Phil,** three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Scharmann joined the agency in 1959 at its Minneapolis District Office after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from South Dakota State University, following four years in the U.S. Air Force. He subsequently held positions in Dallas, Denver, FDA headquarters and Kansas City, before being appointed Denver District director 1/9/91, a position he held until his retirement 1/2/96\. A month later, he was appointed consulting editor of our publications, a position he held for more than 15 years.

During his service with ***FDA Webview*** and its companion publications, ***FDA Review*** and ***FDA Update***, Scharmann contributed over 600 articles, each characterized by his deep and sometimes dogged dedication to FDA and its mission, notwithstanding its increasing politicization, against which he always chafed. In this, we staunchly supported him, as did his loyal following among thousands of FDA employees and those who left the agency to pursue careers in industry, keeping in touch here.

Scharmann’s writings in our publications covered every conceivable FDA-oriented subject, and often said what serving agency employees felt they were constrained by their service from saying. He was especially critical of FDA’s slowness to crack down on the animal husbandry practices that led to the agriculture industry’s over-use of antibiotics and the later development of resistant super-bugs.

In such concerns, he kept the confidence of a private network of FDA field officers past and present to whom he could turn when developing articles about enforcement issues and conflicts. This was the essence of Scharmann’s selfless journalism ꟷ giving voice to the voiceless, always in the interest of public health.

In his [final article as consulting editor](http://www.fdaweb.com/login.php?sa=v&aid=D5121920&searchWords=John%20Scharmann&cate=S&stid=%241%24RT2.Gx%2F.%24bJn%2FGZ5LEq81nVij3hF9F%2F) on 6/4/12, Scharmann wrote that FDA’s restrictions on the media had caused his familiarity with his beloved FDA to gradually decrease “to the point that sources of useful information were no longer available for many reasons.” Among the many appreciative comments posted to this farewell article was one from an employee who wrote: “FDA is dear to my heart, and I have always enjoyed your articles. There was a time when information and established relationships with the press often assisted the agency and was thought to go hand in hand. I hope that someday we enjoy that relationship again.”

Now rests a deeply loved devotee of FDA and the public health.

There will be a private family service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials sent to Marie Steiner Kelting Hospice House, 9120 Shady Oak Dr., Chaska, MN. Huber Funeral home, 520 Second St., Excelsior, MN, or Marlene Scharmann, 875 Fribourg Court, Victoria, MN 55386.