The coyotes howled when Dwight Hume died last Tuesday. And while bagpipes played Scottish tunes, a double rainbow appeared at the end of his memorial service Saturday.

The local artist, chef, and Realtor died on his birthday, June 9, at the age of 62, according to his wife of 34 years, Jane Hume. Hume had been suffering from kidney and intestinal troubles because of complications resulting from vascular disease.

"He couldn't eat — we would feed him intravenously — but what he loved to do was cook for all of his friends," Jane Hume said Monday. "The night before his passing he was preparing food for his friends on his birthday. That day he said he wasn't feeling well, he went to our bedroom and died — he left his party before his guests left."

Hume was born in Corvallis, Ore., but later moved to Lubbock, Texas. He began working in the restaurant business while he was in middle school.

"He went to culinary school under the mentorship of German cooks and sculptors, and that's where he began sculpting ice, chocolate and lard," Hume said. "People who loved his work encouraged him to do more permanent mediums, so he started sculpting wood, clay, rock — rock was his favorite. He was an artist most of his life but he often did other things."

Among those other things was a stint in the circulation department at The New Mexican and a gig at Hotel Santa Fe. He started selling real estate in 1999.

Hume's most recent sculpture show, "Transformation," opened last August. His work is on display at Gallery Chartreuse on Washington Avenue. Gallery Chartreuse co-owner Daniel Bethune said by phone Monday that Hume was "an artist who had a real passion for taking risks in art. He was always trying to not go with the flow of what other people were doing."

In a 1997 interview with The New Mexican's Santa Fe Real Estate Guide, Dwight Hume said "The one thing I want to do before I die is sculpt hot lava as it comes out of the volcano."

According to Jane Hume, Dwight recently said to her, "If I go first, would you please have me cremated and throw my ashes into a volcano?" She said she's going to try to make that happen.

Hume is survived by his wife; his son, Dwight; his daughter, Michelle; and five siblings.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.