Personal Obituary

Dr. David Emil Mungello died on July 4, 2026, after a prolonged battle with kidney disease. He was born on November 20, 1943, in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania to Lois Louise Dittmar Mungello and Donald Dominic Mungello. David grew up working at his family’s movie businesses where was the projectionist at the Drive In Theater. David earned a B.A. in Philosophy from George Washington University in 1965. That same year he married Christine McKegg in the chapel of First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. and the couple moved to California, where he attended UC Berkeley, earning an M.A. in Asian Studies (1969) and a Ph.D. in History (1973). Christine was his greatest supporter; she and their two children accompanied David on many research appointments abroad.

David wrote 11 books and founded and edited a journal (1979-2016) focused on post-Mao-era Chinese and Western historical scholarship. He is recognized as one of the foremost historians of early modern Sino-Western relations. David held teaching appointments at Lingnan College in Hong Kong, Briarcliff College in New York, and Coe College in Iowa before joining, in 1994, the Department of History at Baylor University, Waco TX. Upon his retirement in 2017, he was named Professor Emeritus of History.

Over the course of his life, Mungello shared his home with 11 Labrador Retrievers, each occupying a special place in his heart. He relished early-morning workouts at Baylor University’s Student Life Center, worshiped at Christ Church Waco and loved spending time with his family. David lost his wife Christine to cancer in 1997; her death was the greatest sorrow of his life. 

David is survived by his daughter, Elise Anne Howard of Dallas, Texas; his son, Michael Campbell Mungello of Waco, Texas; his grandchildren, Dylan Pflum, Austin Pflum, Holden Howard, and Maddie Sue Pflum; his great-grandchild, Kennedy Pflum, daughter of his grandson Jordan and wife Kayla Pflum; and his siblings, Marianne Mungello Rohrer of St. Louis, Missouri, and Mark Mungello of Sicklerville, New Jersey.

Private family interment will take place at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, TX where he will be laid to rest next to his wife Christine. 

David proudly supported the scholarship foundation at his alma mater, Burgettstown High School. If desired, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Burgettstown Area Scholarship Foundation, 104 Bavington Road, Burgettstown, PA 15021.