Terrance McGarry Dies at 72; Former Editor for L.A. Times Valley Edition

Terrance McGarry, who was best known for covering President John Kennedy’s assassination for United Press International, died at his home in Encino Tuesday of a rare brain disease. He was 72, the Los Angeles Times reported.

McGarry was with police in Dallas when they found Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper's nest, and a few feet away when Oswald was shot in the jail, the newspaper said. He later was an editor of The Times' Valley edition and wrote the "Around the Valley" column.

At the Times, he was part of the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of a 1998 botched North Hollywood bank robbery and the police shootout that followed.

He retired from the Times the following year.

Born May 13, 1938, in Milwaukee, McGarry received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Marquette University in 1961 and served in the U.S. Army.

He led a scholarship program conducted by the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and was president of the local chapter in 1983, the newspaper reported.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Marlane; daughters Veronica Miller and Victoria Lorino; a brother, Daniel; sisters Kathy Hettenhaus and Kea Gogin; and four grandchildren.