Lawrence “Larry” Neil Marcum

Loving Husband - Proud Father- Humble Hero

Born February 25th, 1946, in Kansas City, MO.

Larry received his last alarm and ran into the arms of Jesus on July 25th, 2026, after fighting occupational cancer.

“Well done, good and faithful servant.” - Matthew 25:23

Larry graduated from the University of Kansas in 1969 with a Bachelor's Degree in Education. In 1969 at 22 years old, he bought and operated an ambulance service and wasted no time beginning to improve it. Those improvements led to his appointment to the Kansas Emergency Medical Services commission. He ran the ambulance service until 1973, when he was hired by Penn Valley Community College and developed the first Associate Degree program in Emergency Medical Service.

He moved to Farmington in 1978 to direct the fledgling paramedic service started by San Juan Regional Medical Center, the City of Farmington and San Juan County. His improvements to the service resulted in the first ever statewide EMS excellence award. Larry pioneered many improvements in the EMS system, including training improvements in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and more. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the 911 system for San Juan County, and his leadership was critical in designating San Juan Regional Medical Center as a Trauma Center.

Larry met Yvette Fox in 1986 while they played adult fast-pitch softball at the same complex. Larry nabbed Yvette with his genuinely sweet personality, not to mention, his incredible looks and his full head of hair. They wasted no time and married in 1987 in Las Cruces. Early in their relationship, Yvette led Larry to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Farmington where he ultimately gave his life to Jesus Christ. Larry has numerous lifetime accomplishments, however leading colleagues, friends and strangers to have a personal relationship with Jesus is the highest.

On June 26th, 2026, Larry and Yvette celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary.

Larry left his post as Director of Emergency Medical Services after 25 years to begin serving as the San Juan County Fire Chief, a position he held with honor until his retirement in 2010. Through hard work and determination, knowledge, experience and 100% passion, Larry helped build the emergency medical system San Juan County benefits from today.

In 2010, Larry and Yvette moved on to their next journey in Dripping Springs, Texas where he served as the North Hays County Fire Chief before his final retirement in 2013 due to a recurrence of bladder cancer.

After treatment and recovery, Larry and Yvette found a love for the mountains in Prescott, Arizona and decided to move once again. Although retired, Larry refused to give up his love for fire service and volunteered for Yarnell Fire Department, Seligman Fire Department and Walker Fire Department. In addition, he began teaching upcoming paramedics at Wizard Education and teaching medical students Advanced Cardiac Life Support at Midwestern University in Phoenix. Larry and Yvette have since resided near her family in Hudson Oaks, TX since 2021.

Larry was a devout husband, and a perfect example of how a father should be. He had a love for playing the drums from a young age up until he no longer could. Naturally, he was a KU and Kansas City Chiefs fan, whom he got to see win the Superbowl a whopping 4 times in his life.

Larry is preceded in death by his mother, Juanita Marcum (Carlton) and his father, Willard Marcum.

He is survived by his loving wife, Yvette Marcum, his brother Raymond Marcum (Virginia), oldest daughter Kimberly Bixler (Mark), Cory Marcum (Brianna) and Danielle Miller (Jesse); granddaughters Alexa Jade Miller and Chloe Lynn Marcum; grandsons Lincoln Neil Marcum and Kayce James Marcum.

Memorial services will be held at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Farmington on Saturday, August 15th, 2026, at 11:00am with his son Cory Marcum leading.

If you are a firefighter, paramedic, or law enforcement officer, we request you wear your official uniform in honor of him. Fire, EMS and SJRMC shirts are also appreciated. We encourage anyone else to wear bright colors, especially red or yellow, his favorite colors.

We are filled with gratitude for the love, kindness and generosity San Juan County has displayed to our family.

A very special thank you to our dad’s gracious friends at San Juan County Fire and San Juan Regional EMS, his hospice nurses Aracely, Helen and Susie at Guardian Angel for their compassion and phenomenal care of him and our family during this transition. We would also like to thank Farmington Funeral Home for their respect, benevolence, and delicate care of our dad.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to support firefighters who are battling cancer or have lost their lives due to cancer at firefightercancersupport.org.