Obituary of Maxine Phillips Gum

Maxine Phillips Gum, 90, a long-time resident of Bridgeport, died on February 20, 2020. She was born August 3, 1929, in Elkins, WV, the youngest daughter and seventh of eight children born to the late Hyder Murray and Belva Alice (Godwin) Phillips. Maxine was the last surviving member of her immediate family and was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Clair, Hugh, Lane, Ray, and Glenn, and by her two sisters, Mary Gear and Roxie Workman. She was united in marriage to Dellus Harper Gum in Loch Lynn Township, Maryland, on May 28, 1949. They were the parents of two sons, Randel G. Gum and Lindel (Gum) Hart, and were married for 47 years until his death in 1996. Maxine graduated from Elkins High School in 1947 and maintained friendships with many of her classmates throughout her long life. After graduating high school, she worked for ten years for Keim and Keim Insurance Agency in Elkins before relocating to Bridgeport. Maxine spent the next 15 years as a homemaker, wife and mother before returning to the insurance field, working for United Security Agency in Bridgeport for twenty-seven years. Just prior to retiring in 2000, she attended an Agents Meeting at Westfield Insurance Company’s home office in Westfield Center, Ohio, where she was recognized for representing their companies for more than twenty-five years. Maxine attended the Fellowship Bible Church in Bridgeport, where she was a member of Titus II Women and enjoyed working with Operation Christmas Child. She also took pleasure in traveling, walking, working puzzles, playing bridge, reading and spending time with her family and friends. In the years following their 50th high school reunion, she and a group of her high school classmates gathered annually in Elkins to reconnect and share a weekend together. She also cultivated a close-knit group of friends in Bridgeport, who gathered for dinners and cookouts and even vacationed together. Family was of utmost importance to Maxine, and she was always very close to her siblings, her nieces and nephews, and of course her two sons and their families. Whether it was a sporting event, a music or dance concert, or a theatrical production, Maxine always enthusiastically supported her children and grandchildren in their athletic and creative endeavors. Surviving Maxine are her son Randy and his wife Cindy (Blanco) Gum of Bridgeport; her son Lindel Hart and his husband Rod Hart of Greenfield, MA; grandchildren Lindsay (Gum) Glover and her husband Ben of Nashville, TN; Michael and Melissa Gum of Bridgeport; Jeremy and Radine Gum of Bridgeport; and Hugh Hart of Greenfield, MA; great-grandchildren Owen Gum, Rhyus Gum, Elsie Gum and Archer Gum, all of Bridgeport, and step-great granddaughters Emerson and Eastyn Glover of Nashville. Also surviving are several very special nieces, nephews, great and great-great nieces and nephews. Visitation will be at the Ford Funeral Home, 215 East Main Street, Bridgeport on Sunday, February 23, 2020 from 3 PM until 5 PM and 6PM until 8 PM. Mrs. Gum will lie in state at the Fellowship Bible Church, 70 Deegan Lake Road, Bridgeport WV 26330, on Monday, February 24, 2020 from 10AM until 11AM. The funeral will be held in the Fellowship Bible Church on Monday, February 24, 2020, at 11 AM with Reverend Sam Schwenk officiating. Interment will follow at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Pruntytown, WV, where she will be laid to rest with her late husband, Del. Contributions may be made in memory of Maxine to a charity of your choice or to the Fellowship Bible Church, Bridgeport, WV.