ANNAPOLIS, Md- Edward D. Casey, who was the executive editor of Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Maryland for 30 years, died Sunday. He was 77.

Casey, who was editor from 1971 to 2001, had been suffering from health problems, including lung cancer . He died while in Columbus, Ohio, for his grandson's wedding, The (Annapolis) Capital reported.

Casey was a native of Binghamton, N.Y., and he came to Annapolis from New Jersey, where he was editor of the Dover Advance. 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.

Casey was a past president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and a Pulitzer Prize juror.