A former regional daily journalist who edited his hometown paper  for more than two decades has died aged 87.

Ray Lazenby,  editor of the Scarborough Evening News from 1965 until his retirement in 1986, passed away after a short illness at Scarborough Hospital on Easter Sunday.

He had joined the Evening News as a reporter in 1941, returning as football, theatre and pigeon correspondent in 1947 after a break for war service.

After rising through the ranks, he succeeded Sir Meredith Whittaker in the editor’s chair where he would remain for 21 years, overseeing 12,000 editions of the paper.

The current editor of the Evening News, Ed Asquith, was among those who attended Ray’s funeral service yesterday.

He said:  “Joining Mr Lazenby’s family and friends were many members of the wider Scarborough community whose presence showed how he, and his role at the newspaper, had left a lasting and respected impression among the public as well as his profession.”

Born in Bradford in 1923, Ray moved to Scarborough three years later when his father, William, started a business as a stained glass artist and leaded-light maker.

He was a Scarborough High School for Boys student from 1935 to 1940 and worked briefly in the Scarborough Corporation treasurer’s department before he began his newspaper career.

As a reporter he covered the infamous 1943 Vine Street murder, when 33-year-old Mary Comins was strangled, but a promising career in journalism was interrupted later that year, when he signed up to the RAF.

He learned to fly Tiger Moth and Harvard aircraft in South Africa, before qualifying as a bomb-aimer and navigator.

The pull of his local newspaper proved too strong though, and he rejoined the Evening News in 1947, becoming a sub-editor and news editor before eventually succeeding Sir Meredith.

His wife Jean said:  “Ray looked up to Meredith. They had a very good working relationship.

“He had offers, but he was never really tempted to move to a larger newspaper. He always said he couldn’t be away from the seaside.

“He was so enthusiastic about his town – he loved Scarborough. He really was a lovely, loyal man.”

As well as his passion for journalism, Ray loved the theatre and amateur dramatics and was a lifelong fan of Everton FC.

He leaves his wife of 61 years, four children and nine grandchildren.