UPI Veteran Elizabeth Wharton

Elizabeth Wharton, a reporter and editor for United Press International for 42 years, died Thursday of cancer. She was 64.

She worked in Washington for UPI for almost 30 years and specialized in explaining the complexities of U.S. government politics to readers in other nations.

She counted among her most important stories the March 1, 1954, incident when four Puerto Rican nationals opened fire in the House of Representatives, wounding five members of Congress.

Wharton is survived by her sister, Catherine McKie of Austin, Tex., and an aunt, Alice Borchers of Hollywood, Calif.