Gary Alexander Kellam

Dr. Gary Alexander Kellam, 72, passed away Tuesday morning in his home in Los Ranchos. His wife of 27 years, Sherry, was at his side when he lost his long fight with congestive heart failure. Maintaining a positive attitude in his final months, Gary always tried to make family around him comfortable with his plight with quips like, "I'll have the steak with butter. What could happen, I get heart disease?!" He was born in Abilene, Texas to Dr. Alexander and Dagny (Bergum) Kellam, and the family soon moved to Duluth, MN, where he grew up with sisters Beth and Debbie. Gary spent his childhood in the northern Minnesota woods pursuing his lifelong love of hunting and fishing. The caption under his 1961 senior photo from Duluth East High School appropriately read "Quiet, until you get to know him." His family and patients would probably say this trait carried with him his whole life. Dr. Kellam earned his dental degree at the University of Minnesota, spent the first half of his career with the Indian Health Service and the last in private practice as an orthodontist in Albuquerque. He changed the smiles and lives of thousands of patients over his long career and will be missed by them and his colleagues. Gary was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Beth. He was father to Stephen, Gregory and Tandra, and stepfather to Dustin and Brooke McCullough. He has seven wonderful grandchildren: Alex, Emily, Reed, Andrew, Katie, Sarah and Quinn. In his final years, Gary enjoyed walking his dogs, Cujo, Mikey and Charlie in his apple orchard, adding to his extensive collection of antiques, comparing O2 saturation levels with his mother-in-law, Cynthia, and matching wits with her husband, Jack, and his caregiver, Paulina. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, September 18, 2015 at 12:30 p.m. at FRENCH - Westside, followed by a Graveside Service at 3:00 p.m. at Santa Fe National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to pawsandstripes.org. Please visit our online guestbook for Gary at . FRENCH - Westside 9300 Golf Course Rd NW 505-897-0300