Friends will celebrate the life of Gil Philips at an event Wednesday at the Lawrence Public Library. Philips, who died Sept. 24, was the longtime manager of African Adorned and a fixture of the downtown Lawrence scene.

When friends gather Wednesday to remember Gil Philips, they will celebrate the life of a man of the world who found little reason to leave downtown Lawrence.

Philips died Sept. 24 from complications from a stroke. There will be a celebration of his life from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Lawrence Public Library Auditorium.

Elizabeth Kurata, who hired Philips 28 years ago to manage her African Adorned, said Philips was a perfect employee for the store that sells imported jewelry and artifacts. His knowledge of the world was reflected in his ability to speak French, German, Russian, Urdu and Amharic, which he learned while stationed in Ethiopia while in the Army.

“He was extremely knowledgeable,” Kurata said. “He had an encyclopedic knowledge of cultures and religions. That is what customers loved about him. I bought items from all over the world — India, Tibet, Africa, South American. He could tell customers about the cultures the items came from.”

Kurata and her daughter, Alia Sachedina, who now owns the shop at 5 East Seventh Street renamed Adorned Boutique, said Philips was the face of store. He managed the store while, first, Kurata traveled extensively to buy merchandise for the shop and then when Sachedina took time away to be with her young family.

“Most people thought he owned the store,” Kurata said.

There was another thing that made Philips a natural for position, Kurata and Sachedina said.

“He loved downtown Lawrence,” Sachedina said. “He very seldom left downtown. He didn’t own a car.”

Philips lived in an apartment above a downtown Massachusetts Street storefront about two blocks from the store. Through the years, he started every morning at a downtown coffee shop, with Starbucks a half block from Adorned Boutique being the latest, said longtime friend Janet FitzGerald.

“That’s how I met him,” she said. “We had coffee every morning. He was a very intelligent and interesting man, who was so much fun to be around.”

Philips was a knitter, crossword puzzle devotee, avid reader, accomplished pianist and practitioner of aikido, who was greatly interested in the cultural events of downtown Lawrence, FitzGerald said.

Philips’ previous job was also well-suited from him, his three friends said. After arriving in Lawrence from Manhattan, Philips worked for a number of years at Hilltop Child Development Center. His grown former students would often drop into the shop to catch up, the women said.

“He loved children, and children adored him,” FitzGerald said. “Many knew Gil through their children, as he often doted on babies and children while getting to know their parents. My children adored him. He was an uncle to them.”

Kurata, Sachedina and FitzGerald said Philips would remember their children on special occasions with meaningful and unusual gifts wrapped in tissue or cloth and tied with yarn.

In other ways, Philips could be a private man, Kurata said. He would never tell her how old he was until she overheard him tell a customer “I’m the same age as Mick Jagger and a better dancer.”

“I went home and did an internet search on Mick Jagger,” she said. “That’s how I learned he was born in 1943.”

She learned the second part of that line was true from a comment Philips’ sister made while he was in the hospital in his final days.

“She said while he was growing up in Wichita, he was known for being a great dancer,” Kurata said. “He was telling the truth to that customer. He really was a great dancer.”