E. Gary Gum, 68, of New Mexico, formerly of Greenville, died unexpectedly on Feb. 28, 2026, at Mountain View Hospital in Las Cruces, NM.
A celebration of life will be held at Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Greenville, on Friday, April 10, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Mr. Gum was born April 10, 1957, at Carbondale Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, to Earl G. and Carol L. (McCracken) Gum. He grew up on the family farm near Tamalco, graduating from Mulberry Grove High School in 1975. During his youth, he was active in the Greenville Presbyterian Church and the Keyesport Methodist Church.
He attended Kaskaskia Junior College at Centralia, and graduated with an associate degree in nursing in 1979. He moved to Phoenix, AZ, where he received a bachelor and a master of science degrees in nursing. After working 15 years in hospitals, he became a nurse educator and was later appointed to the Arizona State Board of Nursing. He relocated to Albuquerque, NM where he continued to teach nursing before working for Indian Health Services in Santa Domingo, NM. He retired in 2019 after 40 years of nursing service.
Mr. Gum and Marie Dierkes were married on March 5, 2011. He was a devoted fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and proposed in front of the Stan Musial statue at Busch Stadium.
His favorite hobby was photography, which became his full-time employment after retirement. He was the photographer and owner of TopGum Photography. His work has been featured in Arizona Highways Magazine, New Mexico Magazine, Art Square Gallery of New York, the Gardenia Exhibition Group and the New Mexico Cancer Center’s 2020-2021 “Art of Healing” exhibit. He published his first book, Take Two Cameras and Call me in the Morning Vol. 1 in 2025.
In addition to his wife, Marie Anne Gum, he is survived by his siblings, Christine (Phillip) Garner of Hillsboro, Cynthia (Dale) Myers of Maryville, and Douglas W. Gum of DuQuoin; nieces and nephews, Nicolas Carver of Witt, Katie (Danny) Duncan of Hillsboro, Justin (Amanda) Volkmar of St. Peter, MO, and Chelsea (Chris) Clark of Collinsville, along with hundreds of good friends in Arizona, Illinois and New Mexico.
He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.
Nursing scholarships have been established in his name. Memorials can be sent to TopGum Photography Nursing Scholarship, P.O. Box 404, Radium Springs, NM, 88054-0404. You can continue to enjoy Gary’s photography on his website TopGumPhotography.com.
