Stephen Robert Gregory, known for Gregory's McFarland House Bed and Breakfast he opened in Coeur d'Alene and the photography work he contributed to events in the city, died of congestive heart failure on Jan. 7 in Fountain Hills, Ariz. He was 90.

Gregory also was known for producing the popular downtown event known as "Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes" until 2008. The event has continued on since then, produced by the Panhandle Kiwanis.

Gregory moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1985 with his wife, Winifred, and longtime friend and employee Carol Amato, whom he later married.

He studied photography at UCLA school of photography. In Coeur d'Alene, he did professional wedding and event photography, as well as special interest work, including rodeos, animals and nature.

When Winifred died in 2003, Stephen sold the bed and breakfast and moved to Fountain Hills, to be closer to his son and daughter-in-law.

His wife Carol Gregory told The Press, "There are no words to express the void that Stephen's death has left. He was my best friend and confidant as well as my husband."

They had known each other since 1976, and shared their lives since 2004, Carol Gregory said.

She said he loved the Commodores and photography, which made for a great match.

"He rarely missed a meeting at 7 a.m. and was the photographer for the (Coeur d'Alene) chamber and the Commodores," she said.

He was responsible for photographing grand openings as well as other Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce and Commodore events.

"Stephen was never without his camera," Carol said. "They seemed to be joined at the hip."

Pat McGaughey, a former Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce CEO, said, "During the late '80s and '90s we experienced a tsunami of success in the chamber of commerce and we could always count on Stephen to be there recording all of our events with his professional skills as a photographer. He left us well."

John McGruder, a Commodore for 30-plus years, recalled that before snapping each photograph, "He always said, 'One, two, three, yo.'"

Gregory was a veteran of World War II from 1943 to 1944. He was a film and stage actor in Los Angeles from the late 1930s to 1960.