CAPE ELIZABETH – Raymond J. Blair, a retired newsman and public relations executive, died June 27 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.

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.