Martha Roper

1952 - 2016

Martha Roper

June 10, 1952- June 28, 2016

Martha (Marty) Roper, M.D., beloved friend and family member, brilliant physician and epidemiologist known for tackling some of the world's most pressing health problems, died from lung cancer on June 28 surrounded by family and friends. She was 64. Marty grew up in Milwaukee, WI, received a BA in Philosophy from Yale University in its first class of women, an MD from New York University, and an MPH from U.C. Berkeley. Marty was loved and admired by friends and colleagues across the world for her keen intellect, her unwavering integrity, and her deeply caring, generous spirit.
An internist for fifteen years, Marty devoted her practice to the neediest populations in New York City; New Haven, CT; and Oakland, California where she was Highland Hospital's Medical Director of the Acute Care Clinic. Fascinated by the perplexing health challenges faced by immigrants who sought care at the clinic, Marty changed directions to study epidemiology at Berkeley and the London School of Tropical Medicine. She worked tirelessly as an epidemiologist in international health for the next 20 years, right up until her death, taking on a range of health threats from malaria to polio, diphtheria to leishmaniosis, neo-natal tetanus to Ebola.
An exacting scientist, Marty conducted research with Harvard and Johns Hopkins teams in Indonesia, Brazil, and Peru where she was in the vanguard of using GPS to understand the spread of vector-borne disease. She joined the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and then WHO (World Health Organization) as a world authority in maternal and neo-natal tetanus, publishing numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters and assisting in international elimination efforts across Africa and Asia. One close colleague writes: "Marty would not compromise: if the evidence was not 100 percent, then it had to be stated it was not 100 percent. No shortcuts, no assumptions. If she had worked at NASA, all her rockets would have landed on the moon on the exact spot she wanted."
Marty's impact went well beyond her professional accomplishments. She showed her two nieces how to be a strong woman in a male-dominated world. She made close friends with people from all walks of life wherever she went. She mentored young epidemiologists and healthcare workers throughout the world, sat on the board of Vermont's Open Door Clinic, and supported and championed educational efforts in Milwaukee. As another colleague writes: "I admired her tremendously for her dedication, sincerity, and above all, her integrity. In a world where people pursue their own interests, Marty always stood by the truth. Her commitment to global health was unwavering. She fought for the uplift of those who were poor, marginalized and whose voices are rarely heard. She loved the human moments that come with being in the field, which keep us honest and true to purpose. Marty was also very funny and unfailingly kind. She was a great mentor and benevolently helped to smooth my path. I used to call her Glinda the Good Witch. I'll miss her profoundly."
Marty will be remembered for her brilliance, humility, generosity, curiosity, courage and ironic sense of humor. She held us to account, inspiring us to do the best we could, not for her, but for larger causes and ourselves. She will be deeply missed. She is survived by her brother Bill, sister-in-law Barbara Ganley, nieces Nora and Elizabeth Ganley-Roper, cousins, extended family, and friends across this planet. She lived in Weybridge, VT and New Haven, CT.
Contributions in her name may be made to: The Open Door Clinic, 100 Porter Drive, Middlebury, VT; or Amazon Medical Project, P.O. Box 194, Mazomanie, Wisconsin 53560.