On April 4, 2025, David Owen Cobb passed away in Winchester, Massachusetts after living a peaceful Cape Cod life of retirement. This tranquil coastal setting was the perfect environment for his painting, gardening, dancing, dining out, attending the theater, the symphony, and treasuring the company of his family and dearest friends.
Born in Rumford, Maine in 1936 to George and Marguerite Mooney Cobb, David was a creative and athletic intellectual with a quick sense of humor. He attended Potter Academy where his father was Headmaster. He then graduated with a degree in English from the University of Maine at Orono. With his love of language and literature, he then received his Master’s Degree in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
After a brief time teaching at Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine, he served as Captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1962 until his honorable discharge in 1966. He followed his passion for teaching and taught at the Mount Hermon School (now Northfield Mount Hermon) in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts before accepting a teaching position at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1968 where he would remain for the rest of his career. His various positions there included English Department Chair, Director of Long Range Planning, Dean of Students, and coach of numerous sports teams. Always dressed in a three-piece suit and cowboy boots, David was known for his eccentric campus presence and unique teaching style as he commuted around campus on his motorcycle. He brought a love of learning to all who attended his classes—especially those occasional times he showed up to class in costume. Once when asked why he wore three-piece suits to class, he replied, “My parents taught me to always dress up when I go somewhere special.”
While teaching at Hebron Academy, he would chaperone for a dance and fall in love with a French teacher chaperoning from the neighboring sister school, Oak Grove School. In June 1963, he married that teacher, Sumida Kichodhan from Bangkok, Thailand. Together, David and Sumida went on to carve out their roles in academia and prep school life. At Phillips Academy, they founded The Riley Room (the student center), hosted countless department parties, trustees gatherings, and social events to bring students together. They entertained their closest friends with vigor, style, and enthusiasm, every party a statement in elegance and warmth with most gatherings ending in revelry and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
Always up for adventure, David and Sumida frequently hopped on their motorcycle for impromptu getaways, both clad head to toe in leather. They sailed every summer on Lake Winnipesaukee where they owned a home for 30 years and spent their winters skiing in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Their shared passion for travel often led them to the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia—even home-schooling their daughter together to enjoy family time skiing in the Alps for six months. They appreciated and treasured their several opportunities to live abroad during David’s sabbatical years, one of which was when David lectured at The University of Cambridge in England.
In 1995, David was featured in GQ Magazine, in an article called “The Natty Professor” which showcased his colorful personality. In it were featured photographs of him in his classroom and on his trademark motorcycle donning a dapper suit and cowboy boots with spurs. His big presence on campus would become his trademark.
Throughout his life, David’s knowledge of all things from home repair to literature to art, music, and sports coupled with a quick wit and love for puns and language made him a vibrant, memorable soul. David would eventually spend time using his artistic talent to create hundreds of clever paintings, illustrations, and greeting cards for family and friends as he eased into retirement.
David’s sense of adventure always kept his family and friends on their toes. Right up until he passed, he was always grateful to those friends and former colleagues who loyally remained in touch later in his life, despite his eccentricities.
David will be terribly missed by his daughter Tiffany Cobb Bradlee, son-in-law Gardner Bradlee, and grandchildren Asia, Quillen, and Rowan Bradlee. He is survived by his nieces and nephews, and he is predeceased by his adoring wife Sumida, sister Charlotte, and nephew Steve Hanson.
In lieu of flowers, feel free to donate to The Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or to The Winchester Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, 223 Swanton Street, Winchester, MA 01890, checks made out to Winchester Resident Council.
Memorial will be private.