BAUDETTE, Minn. – Dr. Maile Jean Roper, 74, died of natural causes Jan. 19, 2021. She was born 1946 in Hawaii and spent her childhood in Kansas, and was a resident of Baudette, Minn. since 2014. She often laughed that she was “Pineapple bred, corn fed.”

Maile fought hard to become a doctor in the 1970’s. Often facing discrimination as a woman and a mother of small children, she earned her degree from the Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Class of ‘79. A grand adventurer at heart, she practiced family medicine in Maine, Alaska, Minnesota and Washington. While practicing in Maine, Maile was one of the few primary care doctors in that state delivering babies for underserved families in financial need. Her career spanning multiple generations, she delivered hundreds of Mainers from the 1980s to 2005, sometimes delivering the children of former deliveries.

She loved to work with her hands, whether it be with yarn, wood, or bread dough. She had a fierce sense of humor, a contagious laugh, and her impression of ‘dog chasing pig’ had to be heard to be believed.

Maile is sorely missed by her sisters Jane, Harriet, Marcia, and Dee, her brothers Charles, James and Buzz; her children Betsy, Tom, Will, Corey, and Taylor; her grandchildren Micaiah, Mason, Madilyn, Gertrude, and Axle; her great-granddaughter Felicity; and the multitude of people she claimed – and we own – as family.

Thank you to all those who cared for her, with a special thank you to Leah Larson.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Johnson Funeral Service, Thief River Falls, Minn. 218-681-4331

Condolences may be sent at http://www.johnsonfuneralservice.com

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to: Planned Parenthood

in Dr. Roper’s na

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