David Ernest Leask was a consultant in general surgery in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa on 30 March 1938. His father, Lawrence, was a businessman; his mother, Beryl Leask née Walton, was a housewife. He gained his fellowships of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and of Edinburgh in 1962. In 1967, he emigrated to Canada. He was a consultant in general surgery at Kitchener, Waterloo and St Mary’s hospitals, in Kitchener, Ontario from 1969 to 2002. David Ernest Leask died on 3 December 2006 at the age of 68. He was survived by his widow Sally, children and grandchildren.