Phoebe Dadakis Sharkey

Phoebe D. Sharkey, PhD, a devoted wife and mother, cherished grandmother and great-grandmother, and respected educator, died peacefully at her home in Washington, D.C., on April 6, 2026. Phoebe was born in New York City on September 29, 1941, to James and Demeter Dadakis, both deceased.

Born with a natural love of learning, Phoebe pursued her studies to build a distinguished and pathbreaking career in higher education. She graduated from Eastchester High School, Eastchester, New York, received her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, and was among the first women to earn a Master of Science degree, concentrating in Russian Area Studies, from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. After earning her master's degree in 1964, she began work with the CIA, where she received advanced computer training in syntactic analysis, facilitating the automation of translating Russian intelligence into English. Phoebe later obtained a doctorate in Economics and Systems Analysis from The Johns Hopkins University.

She joined the faculty at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, where she taught for thirty-five years as a Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management in the Sellinger School of Business and Management. Over her career, she contributed to more than 70 publications in professional journals that have informed policymakers and business leaders in the healthcare sector. She inspired generations of students with her unwavering standards, her uncommon expertise in statistical analysis, her deep commitment to learning, and her mentorship. Even after her retirement, Phoebe remained involved in NIH research and mentoring doctoral candidates.

While pursuing her academic and professional goals, Phoebe married Robert Sharkey in 1963, and they raised four children: Siobhan, who died in 2012, Edward, Catherine, and James. Her survivors include: her siblings, Susan Horn, PhD (Roger) and D. Sophocles Dadakis (Marylu); her daughters-in-law, Jennifer Sharkey, Ina Bort, and Meredith Sharkey; her grandchildren, Anne, Elizabeth, Frederick, Caleb, Phoebe, Keegan, Finley, and Wren; her great-granddaughter Charlotte; and many cousins, nephews, and nieces.

Phoebe approached life with curiosity, grace, and resilience. Whether in the classroom or at home, she believed in the importance of hard work, commitment, compassion, and lifelong learning – values she instilled in her family and her students. Her life is a testament to the enduring power of family, faith, education, and kindness. She did not “so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.”

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Roland Park Country School, Siobhan Sharkey Scholarship Fund:

5204 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210

www.RPCS.org

A requiem funeral mass will be held at Annunciation Catholic Church, 3810 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC, 20016, on Saturday May 9, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. A reception will be held following the service at the church.