Note: A service of celebration for Miriam “Mim” Mumaw will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at 3 p.m. at Washington Community Fellowship (907 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington D.C.). Memorial contributions may be made to the Washington Community Fellowship Church Renovation Fund, which can be found at wcfchurch.org/pages/give-WCF. Online condolences may be made to the family at mcmullenfh.com/obituaries/miriam-mumaw.
A pioneering coach, co-athletic director, and professor at EMU in the 1960s and ’70s—and the youngest daughter of John R. Mumaw, EMU’s fourth president from 1948-65—Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 5, 2025.
During her tenure at EMU (then known as Eastern Mennonite College or EMC), Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s basketball (1966-75), women’s volleyball (1968-79), and field hockey (1970) teams. She achieved the most success with the volleyball team, winning a state championship over James Madison University in 1973 and posting a perfect 21-0 season in 1976. Her overall record with the squad stands at 151-99. Mumaw was inducted into the EMU Athletics Hall of Honor in 2002. Only three other coaches share that distinction.
Those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with Mumaw, either on EMU’s campus or at Washington Community Fellowship (WCF), describe her as a people person who greeted everyone she met with warmth. They speak highly of her meticulous attention to detail, which shone brightly in her volunteer service to WCF and in her career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices, where she worked for more than 40 years. They also remember her for her love of baseball, particularly the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, and her generosity in sharing her season tickets with others.
Mumaw was a beloved mentor, leader, and friend, known by many for her deep commitment to EMU and her congregation.
“She was a titan, a fierce advocate for women in athletics and for EMU in general,” said Carrie S Bert, the first woman to serve as EMU athletics director.
Dave King ’76, EMU’s athletics director for 17 years before Bert, agreed.
“Mim advocated for the expansion of women’s sports at a time when that wasn’t supported by many in the institution, including her father who was president of the college,” said King.
During one of her visits to the EMU Athletics Suite, Bert recalled, Mumaw had shared with her how her father, likely reflecting the feelings of the wider church, had opposed the growth in women’s physical activities at EMU. “Mim just laughed and said, ‘Well, that wasn’t going to stop me … we just had to agree not to talk about it,’” shared Bert.
“Mim was always so encouraging of me, both in words of affirmation and in the wonderful way she would squeeze my hand while we chatted,” Bert said. “I could feel her positivity and enduring support in those moments.”
King told the Augusta Free Press that he first met Mumaw when he arrived as a student in 1972, but “had no idea of the trailblazer she was and the impact she had on women’s sports” until he returned as director of athletics in 2005. “Besides coaching women’s sports and teaching PE classes, her involvement with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) exposed EMC athletics to the broader collegiate athletic community and elevated the EMC sports programs,” King said.
Growing up in a glass bowl
Mumaw was born on Jan. 14, 1938, in Harrisonburg, the youngest of five daughters, to John R. and Esther Mosemann Mumaw. She was 10 years old when her father, a professor and ordained minister, took office as president, succeeding John L. Stauffer. He would serve in that role for the next 17 years.
“That was an important part of her growing up,” said Byron Peachey, a nephew of Mumaw and longtime EMU staff member. “She lived down the road on College Avenue and EMC was an even smaller community than it is now. Everybody knew everybody else’s business. And so for her and her four older sisters, there was a spotlight on them and a set of higher expectations for what they did and how they conducted themselves.”
Mumaw graduated from EMU in 1961 with a degree in business education. She then taught business education classes at Iowa Mennonite School for four years.
“That would’ve been an opportunity for her to spread her wings, outside of this glass bowl at EMU where everybody knew her,” Peachey said.
In 1964, while Mumaw was in Iowa, her mother died “very suddenly,” Peachey said. She returned to Harrisonburg to care for her father (in 1965, he married Evelyn King, former dean of women for EMU, and resigned as president).
Hired by EMU’s fifth president (1965-80) Myron S. Augsburger, Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s intercollegiate athletic teams, including women’s basketball, volleyball, and field hockey.
“That was groundbreaking for EMC,” Peachey said. “She was a real innovator. ‘Trailblazer’ is an overused word, but she truly was one.”
In 1968, after completing her master’s degree at the University of Iowa, Mumaw began teaching accounting and physical education courses at EMU. She also served as co-athletic director and co-chair of the physical education department.
Sandy Brownscombe, coach of EMU women’s basketball (1978-89), field hockey (1978-93), and men’s volleyball (1991-98) also in the Hall of Honor, said that Mumaw held significant roles at the state, regional, and national levels within the AIAW, which governed women’s college athletics before the NCAA took over in the 1980s.
“Mim was a foundational figure for women’s athletics in Virginia through the AIAW,” Brownscombe said. “She started volleyball in the state of Virginia.”
| More about Mim Basketball: In 1967, the women’s basketball team, coached by Mumaw, defeated JMU (then-Madison College) twice, 36-31 and 46-42 (according to the EMU Athletics Timeline). Field hockey: Approached by a group of students from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area who had played field hockey in high school and wanted to start a team at EMU, Mumaw volunteered to get them started, serving as inaugural coach for the 1970 season. Field hockey became a varsity sport at EMU in 1971 with coach Dianne Gates taking the helm for four years. Read about the history of the program in our Crossroads Summer 2024 feature story. Volleyball: In addition to defeating JMU to win the state championship in 1973, the Mumaw-led Royals volleyball team bested JMU at least twice more, in 1975 and 1976. |
A life of balance
Brownscombe was finishing her master’s degree coursework at Washington State University in 1978 when she was hired to teach physical education classes and coach the field hockey and women’s basketball teams at EMU. Mumaw interviewed her for the job, and was tasked with finding a place for her to live.
“There weren’t any apartments available,” said Brownscombe, “and so that’s how I ended up sharing her house with her that first year I was here.”
“That was, in my opinion, probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” she added, “because we spent many nights talking with each other, and she would explain to me what it meant to be a Mennonite female athlete. At that point, I was the first non-Mennonite full-time faculty member at EMU, so it really was my introduction to Mennonites and to EMC, and she shared that whole faith experience with me. She was like a big sister to me.”
Less than a full year later, in 1979, Mumaw left for a sabbatical year in D.C. at The Fellowship Foundation. It led to her permanent move to the area.
“She felt like she had taken EMU athletics to the next stage,” Brownscombe said.
“EMU women’s sports experienced much success in the 1980s, which I believe was a direct result of Mim’s commitment to developing and expanding sports activities for women,” said King.
Mumaw was a founding member of Washington Community Fellowship, a Christ-centered faith community started by President Emeritus Augsburger (its first pastor) and his wife, Esther, in 1981 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Mumaw was an active member of WCF for 43 years and served in many roles, including as presiding deacon, elder, and on the Finance, Human Resources, and Building committees.
“Any time students from WCF were attending EMU, Mim always made sure I knew about it,” said Tim Swartzendruber, senior regional advancement director for EMU. “She was an admissions ambassador for us, no question.”
In 1982, Mumaw began a long career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices in Tyson’s Corner, where she served as accountant, office manager, and assistant to senior partner. She worked at the firm for more than 40 years.
She often returned to EMU and continued to love and support the university. She served on the EMU Board of Trustees from 1988-96.
“When I think of Mim, I think of balance,” Brownscombe said. “Her whole life was balanced. She was great as a coach, administrator, teacher, and yet she was so involved in the church, in leadership there, and in her care for people. She was one of those well-rounded people who had it all together.”
“She was always positive, always optimistic,” shared Peachey. “She wanted sports to be fun for young women and for it to be a team experience. I think that was an important value she cultivated, that student-athletes experience team success rather than individual excellence.”
Clockwise from front center: Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, Liz Chase Driver ’86, David Driver ’85, former Orioles player Larry Sheets ’83, and Stephanie Rheinheimer ’14 attend an Orioles baseball game in August 2022. Sheets told writer David Driver for the Augusta Free Press: “Mim was, first and foremost, a wonderful Christian woman, a huge fan of EMU, and a huge supporter of my career and then my son’s (Gavin Sheets’) career.” (Photo courtesy of David Driver/AFP)
A connector of people
A devoted fan of the Orioles and Nationals, Mumaw was known to invite family, friends, and anyone else within her orbit to baseball games. While there, she recorded the action with a pencil and paper scorecard. “It was in her DNA to keep track of details,” Peachey said.
As a student, David Driver ’85, former Weather Vane sports editor, narrowly missed the window when Mumaw was on campus. But he and his family became acquainted with her as longtime members of WCF beginning in the late 1980s.
“She was never one to talk about the role she played as a pioneer for women’s athletics at EMU, but her love of sports was contagious,” said Driver. “I’m happy to say she made WCF a church with a lot of baseball fans.”
“I know that Carrie Bert benefited greatly from having Mim as a mentor,” Driver added. “Without Mim, there may not have been a Carrie as the first woman to serve as EMU athletics director.”
Long after leaving EMU, Mumaw continued to invest in its mission and its students. According to Swartzendruber, Mumaw included EMU in her estate plans, directing support to two funds established by her parents: the Esther Mosemann Mumaw Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which benefits upperclasswomen of any major, and the John R. Mumaw Endowed Scholarship, which benefits teacher education students.
In 2018, Mumaw coordinated a fundraising effort among past and present members of WCF to increase the ongoing student impact of the Myron S. and Esther K. Augsburger Endowed Scholarship for Urban Ministry. The scholarship, valued at more than $400,000, benefits students at Eastern Mennonite Seminary who plan to serve in an urban setting.
“Mim tried her hardest to attend every alumni gathering, homecoming, you name it,” Swartzendruber said. “She adored EMU. I always got the impression that EMU felt like home to her.”
In addition to her parents, Mumaw was preceded in death by her four sisters: Helen Peachey, Grace Mumaw, Catherine Mumaw, and Lois Martin. She is survived by six nieces and nephews, and many beloved great-nieces and great-nephews.
“She was a single woman, never had children, never married, and so she created a community around her,” Peachey said. “She knew lots of people in lots of different walks of life. When she went to baseball games, people noticed how all the attendants knew her. She knew them all by name. She was always looking for ways to connect people together.”
Thanks to Simone Horst, special collections librarian, for providing the archival images of Mumaw included in this story.
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