Dr. Gaymon Lamont Bennett, Jr. enrolled at Point Loma Nazarene College after high school. In 1993 he transferred to Northwest Nazarene University, majored in English and took philosophy courses. He graduated summa cum laude in 1995.

After a break from studies, during which he worked as a roofer and served as a volunteer missionary for the Nazarene church in Montpellier, France, he moved to Berkeley, California to begin graduate studies. In 2000 he earned an MA in philosophical theology from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific followed by a PhD in philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union in 2008.

During this time, he worked in the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. His interests in ethics and science led to research in the biotech industry and a second PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California-Berkeley in 2011.

In 2011 Gaymon joined the staff of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and co-founded the Center for Biological Futures.

In 2014 Gaymon took a position as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe. At ASU, Gaymon taught undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in religion, science, and ethics, advised graduate students, and collaborated in a variety of interdisciplinary courses and research projects.

In addition to his teaching and research roles at ASU, he served as Assistant Director of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics. He was appointed Director shortly before his death but was unable to assume that work which he loved.

He is survived by his wife Tamara Christensen, two daughters, a stepson, parents Gaymon Bennett Sr. and Evelyn (Sanner) Bennett, two sisters, a niece, and two nephews.

A celebration of his life was held on February 24, 2024.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to college funds for Sanner or Ruby or the Dr. Gaymon L. Bennett, Jr. Research Advocacy Program for cancer research.