Daniel Philbrick of Auburn remembers his father, a long-time Lewiston-Auburn photographer, as someone who had a story for just about everyone and everything.

“He was outgoing, charismatic. Anybody who met him always remembered him,” Daniel said of Raymond H. Philbrick, 76, who died Thursday at Central Maine Medical Center from complications of a blood disease, his son said.

Philbrick was born in Minot and grew up on the family farm. In 1946 he graduated from Edward Little High School and began a career as a photographer for the Lewiston Daily Sun and Lewiston Evening Journal. In those days there was a morning and evening newspaper.

“He was competitive. He was always trying to one-up (fellow photographer) George Wardwell all the time,” his son said Sunday. “But the thing I really remember him for is his stories. No matter where we went, he knew who did what. It was amazing.”

Philbrick’s knowledge of state and local politics during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s and beyond compared to a city directory or history book, his son said. “He knew all the streets. He seemed to know everyone, not just the politicians but local characters.” Whether his father was vacationing in the Bahamas or working in Maine, he always ran into someone he knew, his son said.

Former Sun Journal editor Dave Ehrenfried of Lewiston described Philbrick as “a great photographer who could work wonders with the old Speed Graphic camera, what the old-time photographers used,” Ehrenfried said Sunday. “He was one of the most likable, friendly guys you could ever meet.”

Philbrick made friends easily, Ehrenfried said. When he took pictures of people, “he’d strike up a conversation that would relax them.” He was well known by the community, “and was a local celebrity in his own right,” Ehrenfried said. “He was out there, constantly taking pictures.” Philbrick was a friend right up until when he died, Ehrenfried said.

Cliff Hodgman, retired reporter for the Lewiston Evening Journal, said Philbrick was “a good guy to work with,” someone with a sense of humor, “a pro. We did a lot of spot news stories, bad accidents, fires. You could always count on him getting the shot.”

Philbrick photographed celebrities such as baseball legend Ted Williams, fighters Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay during the historic prize fight in Lewiston. He took photos of presidents: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.

Philbrick met John Kennedy when the Massachusetts senator was thinking about running for president. They talked and shared some drinks in Portland, Dan Philbrick said. Later, days before the election in 1960 when Kennedy climbed out of his vehicle to greet a crowd in Lewiston, Philbrook was there with his camera. “Kennedy said to my father, Ray, how the hell are you,'” Dan recalled. “Kennedy remembered him.”

Philbrick and his first wife, Therese Turmenne, had four children together. She died in 1963. During a vacation Philbrick met his second wife, Margaret. They married in 1965 and had two children, including Daniel.

Philbrick liked all kinds of sports, but his favorite was football. He helped co-found the Central Maine Football Forecasters Association which still exists. With a chuckle, Dan recalled how his father often didn’t predict the correct winners of local high school games.

After 20 years in newspaper work, Philbrick left journalism and bought the Tash Studio in Lewiston. He photographed too many portraits and weddings to count. “In his heyday he and his partner sometimes shot four weddings a day,” Dan said. “In the summer it was non-stop. My mother never saw him.” Later on, running the studio got to be too much, his son said.

Philbrick died with his family at his side. He leaves his wife, six children, nine grandchildren and hundreds of negatives.