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- SOUTH BEND - Dr. Roger Martin Buslee, M.D., was born in New Rockford, ND, on Feb. 4, 1927, and died in Durango, CO, on March 1, 2017, from complications related to Alzheimer's Disease. He was the son of Clarence and Madeleine Buslee (of Ann Arbor, MI) and loving husband of Shirley Remquist Buslee.
After moving to Ann Arbor, MI, as a child, he attended the University of Michigan Elementary School and the UM High School. Upon graduation in 1945, he was drafted and served at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. He then attended the University of Michigan and the UM Medical School, graduating in 1953. While a medical student, he met Shirley. They were married on April 4, 1953. After their marriage, he became the only man (to this day) to legally live in the UM Martha Cook women's dormitory.
He interned in general medicine at Philadelphia General Hospital and did his residency in Pathology at the South Bend Medical Foundation (South Bend, Ind.), where he stayed as a staff pathologist until December 1971. While in South Bend, he served as the President of the United Way, and as the President of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Council.
He moved to Durango in January 1972 to practice with and later own Southwest Diagnostic Laboratories, primarily supporting Mercy and Community Hospitals in Durango and Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez. In Durango, he served as President of the Staff of Mercy Hospital in 1983, and was a board member of the Mercy Health Foundation for nine years. He retired in 1991.
He played classical guitar and cornet in his spare time. He was a licensed pilot before moving to Durango. He skied, ran, bicycled, and played tennis. Many residents in the Riverview area remember his daily walks with his dog, Charbonne, after his retirement.
Roger and Shirley traveled extensively. He sang in and supported the Durango Community Chorus, Music in the Mountains, Fort Lewis College, the Durango Public Library, and the University of Michigan. He and Shirley were active in the fundraising for the new Mercy Hospital. The Laboratory at Mercy is named in their honor.
He is survived by his wife Shirley, sons William, David and his wife Natalie, daughter, Patricia Humphrey, grandchildren, Emma and Ceba Humphrey, and Eric and Melissa Buslee. He was preceded in death by son Mark.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Mercy Health Foundation or Christ the King Lutheran Church. A memorial service will be held at Christ the King Lutheran Church on Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 pm.
Published in South Bend Tribune on Mar. 9, 2017
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