This doctor was the only physician in his area for decades. Here’s how he’ll be honored
After more than 40 years a well-known Key Peninsula doctor has retired.
Dr. William Roes, 71, graduated in 1973 from the University of Washington. Roes started coming out to Gig Harbor one day a week in 1980 to work at The Key Peninsula Health Center while he was completing a family residency program over at MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine.
After graduating from the residency program in August of 1981, Roes decided to stay in the area and apply for the family doctor position at The Key Peninsula Medical Center, 15610 89th Street Court NW. Roes started practicing full-time at The Key Peninsula Health Center as the only family doctor at the clinic.
“Dr. Roes has impacted the community tremendously. Forty years ago we really needed somebody that would be here for everybody on the peninsula,” local Norm McLoughlin said.
“Anybody who has been a long-time member of the community knows who Dr. Roes is. He has given this community so much unconditional love and support. He has a set of skills as a medical doctor to create change. He treats patients like people and not just as a number or a dollar,” said Anne Nesbit, the Key Peninsula Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Specialist and Public Information Officer.
Roes remained the only doctor at clinic up until his “soft retirement” shortly before the pandemic started. In 2020, he decided to dial back his work at the clinic.
“I recently semi-retired and now work a couple days a week at the clinic,” Roes said.
‘Part of all our families’
Due to the pandemic, the community, friends and faculty at the clinic had to hold off celebrating his career until last weekend.
Longtime friend of Roes and Gig Harbor community activist, Hugh McMillan, 95, organized the retirement celebration where locals came together at the Key Peninsula Civic Center Saturday, April 22, to thank Roes for his work over the last four decades and share stories.
“The community came together and expressed their appreciation for what I have done and it gave me the chance to thank them too,” Roes said.
“I feared that people were not going to remember the man who was our one and only doctor for forty years. He’s retired, but not retired. This is not a doctor, this is part of all our families. That’s the way we treat him and that is the way he treats us,” McMillan said.
Roes was surprised with a 50-pound plaque that will sit outside of the clinic recognizing the doctor he was on the peninsula and his time at the clinic.
“The plaque was very lovely. I’m flattered that they felt they needed to do something like that. It was just a good feeling, it’s so nice getting people together. We have passed the torch to some of the younger doctors. It has been a pleasure serving this community and I am not totally retired, I am semi-retired. And I will be semi-retired probably for a while,” Roes said.
“I have had fun these years, I don’t feel like I did anything special, I just did what I thought I should do. And it will continue ... . I don’t know how long but it will continue,” Roes said.
The clinic now has a full-time nurse practitioner, ARNP Katie Lager; a part-time pediatrician for the first time ever at the clinic, Dr. Van (Mimi) Chau; and a part-time family doctor, Dr. Dylan Peterson through the summer.
“The vast majority of my patients before I took a step back now see Dr. Dylan Peterson. I now just do home visits, see my patients who are now in nursing homes, special projects at the clinic and other situations (where) we have made arrangements for me to follow up with patients from the clinic, which is a very limited number,” Roes said.
The clinic hopes to hire a full-time family doctor by the end of summer or early fall, he said.
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
