Jasper Daube, MD passed away on April 18, 2020, in Rochester.
Jasper Rolf Ludwig Daube was born in Uetersen, Germany on Feb. 16, 1936. He immigrated to the U.S. as a small child and grew up in Villa Park, Ill. He attended York Community High School and received a full scholarship to attend Princeton University.
After college, Jasper attended Strong Memorial Medical School in Rochester, N.Y. His residency in neurology followed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army stationed at Camp Zama, Japan, to attend to patients involved in the Vietnam War effort. It was in Japan that he met the love of his life, Cynthia Sokol, a nurse from Detroit, Mich. Jasper and Cynthia were married in 1968. Later the same year, the first of their two children was born, son, Christopher “Chris.”
Upon returning stateside, Jasper came to Mayo Clinic as a neurophysiology fellow with an interest in EEG and EMG and was asked to join Mayo staff. A year into their lives in Rochester their second child was born, Lizabeth “Lizzie.”
Jasper was accomplished in all three of the Mayo shields (Patient Care, Research and Education), but perhaps his biggest impact was in education. He served as one of the original Mayo Medical School faculty members and was among the founding authors of the “Medical Neurosciences” textbook designed for medical student education. He developed the original curriculum and served as program director for the Mayo clinical neurophysiology program as well as developing numerous extramural courses for national and international audiences.
Jasper was instrumental in the development of the Mayo EMG lab. Beyond serving as lab director, he mentored a majority of Mayo EMG specialists in Rochester, Arizona and Florida. For most of his career, he was the international face of Mayo EMG. In the area of research, Jasper published extensively with nearly 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and served as author and editor of the textbook “Clinical Neurophysiology.” In 2008, Jasper was recognized by the American Academy of Neurology with the A. B. Baker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Education.
Jasper was also instrumental in many aspects of his wife Cynthia’s bakeries and restaurants. He helped develop training plans, assisting with organizational management as well as being the foremost “taster.” On most evenings when not traveling or at their lake home in Cable, Wis., he was a fixture at Cynthia’s restaurant, which was fittingly named “Jasper’s.”
A member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Rochester, Jasper served as board president and numerous other positions over the years. He was active politically and held precinct, county and district committee chairmanships for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Always ready to give back to his community, Jasper was especially proud of his mentorship of Rochester youth. He also enjoyed attending the symphony, local theater and periodic trips to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Jasper was an avid cross-country skier into his 70s.
Dr. Daube is survived by his wife of 52 years, Cynthia Daube; son, Christopher Daube and wife Paula of Duluth; his daughter, Lizabeth Wortham and husband Don of St. Paul; his grandchildren, William Wortham (Petra Matuszka), Andrea Daube, Gwendolin Roote, Carolina Rose Akira, Eoin Stanley and Noah Daube. He also leaves behind two sisters, Lisa Andersen and Sue Laue; numerous nieces, nephews and many cherished family members and friends. He will also be missed by his special canine companion, Cricket.
A service for family was held Wednesday, April 22 at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester.