Read related story: Tuba Man's legacy lives on          

June 2006

David Mayfield, an inspiring person

By Lisa Weatherwax
Contributing writer

David Cook Mayfield, 1947-2005, earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then taught at several high schools in Mississippi, including Calloway, Florence, and Northwest Rankin. He later moved to Florida, where he was band director at Crestview’s Richbourg Middle School, then at Davidson Middle School, also in Crestview. He served at Niceville High School for the last two years of his life.

Keitha Bledsoe, choral instructor at Davidson, and prior to that, Richbourg, served as a colleague with Mayfield for a total of 15 years. Bledsoe said in a prior interview last year that Mayfield was "generous to a fault. His response to the children was as much that of a parent as an instructor." Bledsoe also said Mayfield took his job seriously and his position as an educator never wavered.

Cherv, Mayfield’s tuba, was the instrument he used for performing in soundtrack productions such as Ben Hur; with Pensacola’s quintet, Perdido Brass; and the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.

Known for his exceedingly dry wit, students everywhere loved him. He had a nickname for nearly everyone. Niceville High School band director Daniel Wooten said in a prior interview that Mayfield was "a consummate human being, a world class musician, and the last of the nice guys."

David Cook Mayfield, 1947-2005