CAPE ELIZABETH (AP) – Raymond J. Blair, a retired newsman and public relations executive, died Sunday at Maine Medical Center. He was 85.

Blair was diagnosed two years ago with a bone marrow disease and had taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., native, Blair worked from 1943 to 1954 as a Washington correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, covering national politics, Congress, government agencies and labor.

He later worked in public relations in New York for the J. Walter Thompson Co., Anna Rosenberg Associates and three airlines. After moving to Maine, he served as associate editor of The Times Record in Brunswick.

Blair is survived by his wife of 13 years, Beverly Bond Blair, and three children.

A memorial service will be held in Brunswick on a date to be announced later.