David Allen Mycoff

David Allen Mycoff, Ph.D., passed away peacefully at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, on December 15, 2024. He was born on June 16, 1953, to Walter J. and Marguerite (Peg) Mycoff in Wheeling, West Virginia. He grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, before earning his B.A. from Washington and Lee University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.

David began his teaching career at the West Virginia Institute of Technology in 1984. In 1986, he joined the faculty at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. There, he met librarian Yoke Mei Mah, whom he married in 1988.

David was a professor at Warren Wilson College until his retirement in 2021. Although his primary areas of specialty were medieval and renaissance studies, his knowledge and interests were wide ranging. He taught courses in a variety of subjects, including Shakespeare, Chaucer, Irish literature, theater history, and dramatic literature.

He performed in many stage productions with a number of theater companies in the Asheville area, including The Montford Park Players, Asheville Community Theatre, Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective, The Magnetic Theater, Warren Wilson Theatre, and Attic Salt Theatre Company. He was beloved and admired by many in the Asheville theater community.

Students, friends, and family members will remember his love for his students; his sense of humor; his kindness; and his passion for literature, theater, music, and social justice, which he passed onto generations of students. He is survived by his wife, Mei Mah; brother, Walter J. Mycoff, Jr.; sister-in-law, Martie Mycoff; sister, Joyce Egnor; nieces, Jessica Savasta, Rebecca Conley, Nadia Purvis, and Laura Davidson; and grand nieces and nephew, Hope Morgan Savasta, Kaiden Pummill, Madi Pummill, James Walter Egnor, and Trinity Marguerite Keene-Egnor.

In lieu of flowers, people wishing to honor David’s memory may make donations to:

The Montford Park Players, PO Box 2663, Asheville, NC 28802

montfordparkplayers.org 

Beloved Asheville, PO Box 6386, Asheville, NC 28816

belovedasheville.com  

Manna Food Bank, 99 Broadpointe Drive, Mills River, NC 28759

mannafoodbank.org

World Central Kitchen, PO Box 96538, Washington, DC 20090

wck.org

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