LEES, Dr. Ronald Lees

In loving memory of Ronald (Ron) Lees, who passed away on March 8, 2026. Ron was the devoted husband of Millis Lees (Dec.), loving father of Karen English (Jeff) and Hilary Watson (David), cherished grandfather to Ashleigh Dumas (Matt), Matthew Watson (Jess), Andrew English (Sarah) and Tom English (Kristen) and great-grandfather to Aivah and Skylar Dumas, and Riley Vellow-English. He will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by us all.

Our father / grandfather / great-grandfather was a compassionate and caring man who put the needs of his family and his patients before all else. He will be remembered for his love for his family, and for his sound judgement and guidance throughout our lives. Always the voice of reason, he had a gift for seeing the forest through the trees and helping us to find our way through the challenges life presents. He also had a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of all things.

Ron was born in Carlisle, England and moved to Glasgow, Scotland as an infant. His lifelong passion for Scotland was part of his fabric, and he was a devoted Scot to the end, despite having lived much of his life in Canada. He was the son of Elizabeth (Whyte) and Tom Lees, both deceased, and brother of Alan Lees of Edinburgh.

Ron was accepted to Medical School at the University of Glasgow at the age of 17 where he obtained his degree in medicine 1958. He joined the merchant navy for two years and then continued to travel the world as ship’s surgeon on the Circassia (Anchor Line) and the Orion (P and O). Ron met Millis, his wife and soul mate, in 1961. They married the same year and moved to the West Indies shortly thereafter. Formerly Chief Medical Officer to the Government of St. Lucia and Physician with the Rockefeller Foundation of New York, Ron then moved his family to Scotland before emigrating to Canada where he joined the Faculty of Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston in 1969 and continued his medical practice there until his retirement in 2001. His work took him to the UK, Egypt, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates on extended projects and sabbaticals.

For his work in Tropical Medicine, he was awarded a Fellowship in the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1965. He was invested into the Order of St. John in 1968 and became an Officer in the Order in 1972. He gained Fellowship in the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. At Queen’s Ron was a member of the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and the Department of Family Medicine; from 1977 until 1995 he was Director of Occupational Health and Safety, and consultant physician to several corporations. He was actively involved with examination committees of the Medical Council of Canada for several years and served on several committees for both the Governments of Ontario and Canada. Upon his retirement in 2001 he was named Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Medicine at Queen’s University. He was proud that his wife Millis, and daughters Karen and Hilary were all graduates of Queen’s.

A lover of the outdoors, Ron spent his youth climbing in Scotland, his early adulthood traversing the great oceans of the world, and laterally sailing the calmer waters of Kingston, Ontario. Ron enjoyed spending time in the beautiful gardens he and Millis created together, cultivating, and harvesting vegetables, while fending off the rabbits, squirrels, and deer. He instilled in his daughters, from an early age, a lasting appreciation for nature, and a fondness for all creatures, great and small. With a dog at his heel and a pipe at the ready, he entertained family and friends with his gift for storytelling and a terrific sense of humour. He loved to sing, dance, and play the spoons. Sunday breakfast was his specialty, and no one could ever take the art of cooking the ‘perfect egg’ as seriously.  In retirement Ron took great pleasure in volunteering at the Kingston Marine Museum, where he quickly bonded with a group of likeminded, would-be Mariners.

The family would like to thank the staff at Carveth Care Centre in Gananoque for their ongoing care and support over the past three years, as well as Ron’s care team at KGH in easing his journey at the end.

A funeral service will be held at James Reid Funeral Home (1900 John Counter Blvd.) on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kingston Humane Society or the Canadian Red Cross.

His presence will be felt in our hearts and in our thoughts every day, much like the sun’s warmth can be felt, even beyond our reach, or hidden from sight.