Funeral and Memorial services have not been announced.
I will post a full obituary when available.
Best wishes and condolences to all of David's friends and family in their time of sorrow.
"These are the ones who have gone through the great suffering...And so they stand before the throne of God...They will never hunger or thirst again, and they won't be trouble by the sun or any scorching heat...He will lead them to streams of life-giving water, and God will wipe all tears from their eyes." Revelation 7:14, 15, 16, 17 (CEV)
David Mumford
Imagineer, author and historian David Kent Mumford passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on the morning of January 20th, 2003 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California after a valiant fight with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and paraneoplastic pemphigus. David was 46 years old.
“The joy should be in doing the work, the reward is hoping the public enjoys our efforts.”
-- David Mumford,
Early 2002, on what he’d learned in his years at Imagineering
As a senior principal show set designer at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), David oversaw the production of working set drawings for Disney theme park attractions. David’s most recent project was the Journey into Imagination with Figment attraction at Epcot, on which he was working at Walt Disney World last spring before he became ill. But battling illness could not diminish David’s Disney contributions -- he diligently read all the proofs for his upcoming book Ellenshaw Under Glass from his hospital bed, according to his co-author, WDI project director Bruce Gordon. (The book, which tells the story of matte artist and Disney Legend Peter Ellenshaw, will be published in March of this year.) In their spare time, David and Bruce co-authored and co-edited several books including Disneyland: The Nickel Tour; A Brush With Disney: An Artist’s Journey; Walt’s Time: From Before to Beyond (with Jeff Kurtti); and Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real (with Kevin Rafferty and Randy Webster).
David joined The Walt Disney Company in 1974 as a ride operator on the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland Park. His 23-year Imagineering career began in 1979 when David joined WED Enterprises (as WDI was then known) to work as a show set draftsman for The Land at Epcot. Over the years, David was involved with a number of attractions including Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin's Oasis at Disneyland, The Living Seas at Epcot, and the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour and Star Tours for Tokyo Disneyland Park, among others.
Before his Epcot assignment, David served as art director for the Mermaid Lagoon port of call at Tokyo DisneySea Park. “We just invented the stuff that doesn’t exist,” said David about designing Ariel’s undersea world (inspired by The Little Mermaid) in three dimensions. “Things like underwater light fixtures just aren’t on the market, so we created them from pure fantasy.”
Since childhood, David was a Disney aficionado, collecting all sorts of trivia and memorabilia. His expertise as a Disney historian is well known throughout the Company and was put to use when David served as associate producer on the 1989 Disney Channel special, “The Disneyland Story.” He was a featured speaker at many Disneyana conventions and co-wrote a number of articles for national magazines, including the Disney Magazine.
At David’s request, a private memorial service will be held. A public, life-tribute memorial will be held soon -- additional information will be communicated when plans are finalized.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Ryman-Carroll Foundation, 315 West Ninth St., #806, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, in David Kent Mumford's name. The Foundation’s number is (213) 629-2787.
Please direct any cards or messages of condolence to Diana Phipps (WDI D&P Operations, Mailcode 9030, 1401 Flower St., Glendale); Diana will ensure they reach David's wife, Carole.
John Mumford
Friday, February 7th, 2003
2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Van De Kamp Hall
Descanso Gardens
Public Invited
http://www.descanso.com/general.cfm
