Capital's former executive editor dies | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Mr. Casey was 77 and had suffered from health problems, including lung cancer.

"He was a great father and a great man," said his son, Dan, a former reporter for The Capital who is now an editor at The Roanoke Times. "We will miss him greatly … He had a great love for his family, and Annapolis, and the news business."

Mr. Casey is survived by his wife, Jackie, four children and nine grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Taylor Funeral Home.

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Mr. Casey came to Annapolis from New Jersey, where he was editor of the Dover Advance and doubled that newspaper's circulation in six years. His newspaper career started in 1956 as a sportswriter with the Binghamton Press, and, in 1958, Mr. Casey became sports editor of the Endicott (N.Y.) Bulletin before taking over as news editor.

Mr. Casey graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1952 with a degree in journalism. He also graduated from the Armed Forces Public Information School at Fort Slocum, N.Y., and attended the Syracuse University School of Journalism.

A past president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and a Pulitzer Prize juror, Mr. Casey originally thought he would only stay in Annapolis for five years.

"But there was no reason to leave," he said upon retiring as executive editor in 2001, after helping take circulation from less than 17,000 to about 48,000. "It has been a great place to work … And, you couldn't find a nicer place to live."

Mr. Casey was a "tenacious" journalist who was committed to the community, said Eleanor Merrill, publisher emeritus of The Capital and the wife of the late Philip Merrill, who was publisher of the paper from 1968 to 2006.

"He cared deeply about getting the story and getting the story right," she said, comparing him to television's Lou Grant. "I always think of him as a 'meat and potatoes' guy."

Mr. Casey was succeeded as executive editor at The Capital by current publisher Tom Marquardt, who credited him with being an inspiration.

"Ed was a titan in the community, not just as an editor, but as someone who deeply cared for people," Mr. Marquardt said. "I owe to him my passion for local news - something he inspired in everyone who worked for him."

An active member of the region, Mr. Casey helped start the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County in 1988 and served as its board president for four years. The "Ed Casey Youth of the Year Award" is given out at the organization's annual fundraising dinner.

Mr. Casey, who was a former club kid himself, was an important influence on the life of everyone in the program, said Reginald Broddie, the organization's chief professional officer.

"He was a friend to so many of the kids," he said. "He just wasn't sold on this idea that just because you live in public housing or because you live in challenging circumstances, you can't achieve."

Mr. Broddie's last conversation with him was on Father's Day, when Mr. Casey scolded him for not taking vacation time with family.

"That's the type of person he was," Mr. Broddie said.

Angie Calabrese, Mr. Casey's barber, used to go to Baltimore Orioles games with him, and remembered him as one of his best friends. Mr. Casey would often make sarcastic quips to some of the team's underachievers, Mr. Calabrese said, and laughter would continue for innings at a time.

"He was a generous, kind man," Mr. Calabrese said. "He's going to really be missed."