Dr. Ronald Reginald (Ron) Tasker — BA at Victoria College at the University of Toronto in 1948, MD at UofT in 1952, MA at UofT in 1954, FRCS in 1959, honorary doctorship at Tokushima University, Japan in 1988, OOC in 2005 — died peacefully on April 19, 2023, near his home of 50 years in Toronto, following a long and productive life. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary M. Tasker, née Craig, in 2003. He was 95.
Ron had a deep love for natural history first nourished by exploring the Don River Valley behind his home in East York, Ont., with his father as a small boy. Having a precocious mind, Ron entered UofT at 16 on a classics scholarship, where he studied honour science (Lt. Governor's Medal, 1948). This led to the lab of Dr. Charles Best, the co-discoverer of insulin. Dr. Best and Ron's mother counselled him to study medicine, where he won the 1950 Saddington Medal in pathology and the 1952 Cody Silver Medal. Ron studied neurosurgery and neurophysiology under the mentorship of Dr. E. Harry Botterell and as a postdoctoral McLaughlin Traveling Fellow (1959-1961) in the U.S. and Europe.
Ron was a classically trained scientist in the analog methods of early modern medicine. He pioneered clinical neurophysiology by adopting digital technology and instrumentation in the operating room, and by melding his training in neurophysiology and stereotactic neurosurgery. Ron joined the division of neurosurgery at Toronto General Hospital in 1961, and was distinguished as a Markle Scholar (1961-1966). He travelled the world training neurosurgeons in the field of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, and later became head of neurosurgery at TGH from 1979 to 1988. Ron taught in the faculty of medicine at UofT for more than 40 years, becoming full professor in 1978, and was honoured with the title of professor emeritus — neurosurgery in 2005, along with officer of the Order of Canada. He established academic, research and medical connections with hospitals and universities globally, especially in Japan and Brazil. Among his many honours, Ron was the recipient of Spiegel & Wycis Medal, World Society Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) in 1993. The R.R. Tasker Chair in Functional Neurosurgery was endowed in the department of surgery at UofT in 1999 to mark his many contributions to this field of medicine.
Ron established a world-renowned reputation in clinical research as a brilliant surgeon, teacher, mentor and professional role model, highly regarded for his clarity of thinking and plain-spoken voice. His ground-breaking and meticulous study of the human brain's deepest centres was enabled by his use of objective, quantifiable metrics and in-house, purposed-built instrumentation, and by his assembly of multi-disciplinary collaborators. Collectively, this allowed for his objective procedure evaluation, resulting in improved quality of life for his patients struggling with Parkinson's disease and other forms of tremor, involuntary movement and chronic pain. Ron was described by his peers as a pioneer and patron saint, one of the major deities in the pantheon of functional and stereotactic neurosurgery for his understanding of the pathogenesis and physiology of pain — an area where few neurosurgeons have ventured. He was a modern-day Magellan for his physiological exploration of previously unexplored brain targets.
A man of indisputable professional honesty and integrity, highly regarded as a gentle, courteous and approachable teacher, Ron was a kind and accommodating colleague, with self-effacing reflection and humility. Beyond medicine, Ron's true passion was natural history and the pursuit of field biology, with interests in ornithology, orchids, wildflowers, sedges and frogs. He pursued these interests with zeal during his travels at home and abroad. In addition to his countless medical publications, he published, with Holmes, Hess and Hanks, The Ontario Butterfly Atlas (1991). Ron also served as a volunteer executive for the Long Point Bird Observatory (Birds Canada), the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (Ontario Nature). As a father, Ron was most relaxed out in the woods. Ron is survived by his children, Moira, James (Sandra Poole), Ronald (Bonnie Crook) and Alison, his four grandchildren, his sister Elizabeth White, née Tasker and his sister-in-law, Sheila Waengler, née Craig.
Donations can be made in Ron's memory to Birds Canada, the Nature Conservancy of Canada or Ontario Nature.
Ron's family would like to thank his wonderful private caregivers over the years, as well as the staff at Belmont House for their exemplary care at Ron's end of life.