Former longtime Times editor Bob Campbell died Sunday at his home in his native Asheville, N.C. He was 88.

Campbell, who was a Navy veteran of World War II, worked at The Times from 1971 to 1986, spending the last two years as editorial page editor.

“I remember Bob’s smile and sense of humor,” said Gainesville City Councilwoman Ruth Bruner. “He was a great writer. He was very balanced in that he looked at all sides of an issue and was very, very committed to the community.

“I just remember him very fondly.”

Campbell graduated from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., and earned a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, N.Y.

He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

He worked as a reporter and city editor in Asheville, editorial page editor in Winston-Salem and director of the Southern Education Reporting Service in Nashville, Tenn.

In 1981, Campbell served as one of 55 Pulitzer Prize nominating jurors in journalism.

He and his wife, Anne, moved back to Asheville in 1995. A farewell reception was held in their honor at Brenau University’s John W. Jacobs Jr. Building.

“We have wonderful memories of Gainesville,” said his wife, Anne. “We lived on the lake and enjoyed the lake. We enjoyed the people at The Times and ... in the community very much. He was involved in quite a few things there.”

John Odegaard and his wife, Ellen, became friends with the Campbells through the wives’ work in starting up Elachee Nature Science Center.

“We really enjoyed being on their deck that overlooked the lake for many wonderful dinners,” Odegaard said.

“We were both of like mind as far as politics goes. We were liberals and during the 1960s and 1970s, it wasn’t a popular thing to be a liberal in this state.”

Campbell also is survived by one son, two daughters, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

A memorial service is set for Saturday in Asheville, N.C.