It is with love and sadness we announce the peaceful passing of Ron at the age of 87. He will be missed by his wife of 44 years, Rona; sons Drew (Jennifer) and Matthew (Claire); grandsons Tripp and Elliott; and step-grandsons Kai and Jake.

Ron was born in Toronto and enjoyed playing baseball at Talbot Field from a young age. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1956 to play in the minor leagues while simultaneously earning his degree from the University of Toronto in Electrical Engineering (1961) during the off seasons. In 1962 he was called up, starting an 11-year Major League career including two World Series Championships with the St. Louis Cardinals (1964) and the New York “Miracle” Mets (1969). Near the end of his playing career, he was asked to go on USO Good Will Tours, visiting field hospitals in Vietnam to offer encouragement to injured soldiers. It was then that he decided to be a doctor after baseball. He graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1977 at the age of 39. He set up a practice in family medicine and sports injuries and was asked to join the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979 as their team physician, where he was able to keep his love of baseball and medicine together for over 35 years. Ron will be remembered for his dry sense of humour and stories that kept us all laughing and in awe of a life well lived.

Visitation will be held at Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre, 375 Mount Pleasant Road on Wednesday, June 25, between the hours of 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Funeral to be held at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge Street, on Thursday June 26, at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either Jays Care Foundation or The Salvation Army.

Please copy and paste the link below into your browser to watch a short film about Ron:
https://vimeo.com/filmhouseinc/download/450593897/c2a63255e9