RONALD "RON" TOMPKINS

1951 - 2022

TOMPKINS, Ronald "Ron" Surgeon, Scientist, Entrepreneur, Husband, Father and Grandfather Ron of Boston, MD, ScD, passed away unexpectedly on January 17, 2022. Ron is survived by his wife Denise of thirty-seven years; his children, Megan and her husband Adam, Ryan and his fiancée Meredith, Caitlin, his first grandchild, Noelle; and many beloved nieces, nephews and extended family. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Horace and Ruby; and his brothers, Victor, Norman and Stanley. Ron was the Sumner M. Redstone Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, the former Chief of the Division of Burn Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the former Chief of Staff of Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston, the founding director for the Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery at MGH, and co-director of the of the Open Medicine Foundation focusing on the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) project. Ron led one of the largest and most successful research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Inflammation and Host Response to Injury Grant known as "the Glue Grant," which led to improvements in survival and established benchmarks for care in the fields of burns and trauma. Above all else, Ron enjoyed his family whom he loved deeply and of whom he was very proud. A highly accomplished man, the only boasts he ever made to anyone were about his children and grandchild. Visiting Hours: Visitation will be held at St. Joseph's Church in the West End on Saturday, January 22, 2022 from 10am to 12pm, followed by a Funeral Mass at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ron's memory may be made to the Open Medicine Foundation. Your donation will continue Ron's legacy by supporting research at the Ronald G. Tompkins ME/CFS Collaboration at the Harvard Affiliated Hospitals.

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