Dr. Rosemary Gill Schrepfer passed away on June 16, 2025.  Rosemary was born on February 19, 1922 in Wichita, Kansas the first of five children born to August and Cecelia (Susie) Schrepfer. She lived in Wichita briefly and at age two the family moved to Whitewater, KS outside of Wichita. The family lived in Whitewater for several years before moving to Potwin, KS where Rosie's father was employed by Vickers petroleum to run the oil refinery. Rosie went to school in Potwin and Eldorado, graduating from high school in Eldorado. At the age of 12 Rosie began driving the family model T to Eldorado, propped up on pillows, all the while trying to keep her three siblings in line.

The path to Rosemary's medical career began in 1943 at the university of Kansas. She completed three years of studies and then began four years of study in the KU medical school. Upon completion of these seven years of study she began a one-year internship. Upon completion of the internship, she entered the OB/GYN program and began a four-year residency at the University of Kansas hospital in Kansas City.  Her third year of residency was spent at Duke.

Rosemary was the first woman to complete the OB/GYN program. She reports other women had entered the program previously but failed to complete the rigorous residency program. As one can well imagine, a woman entering a male-dominated program would encounter unique and challenging circumstances. She characterized the department chief as "old school" and no accommodations at the hospital were made for women. While the male residents and doctors had beds for rest, Rosemary was forced to sleep on carts wherever space could be found. But ultimately Rosemary used this resistance to fuel her resolve and she became more determined to prove the naysayers wrong. She completed the residency and joined the staff at KU med becoming the first female OB/GYN in the state of Kansas. Her primary role was as a teacher and she served patients as well, both in the hospital and a few in private practice.

Rosemary worked at KU med under challenging conditions. In her words: "It was a killer and I never got any rest." Sleeping on carts obviously didn't help. She remained at KU med until 1983 when she felt it was time to remove herself from the challenging conditions and try something new. She left for Saudia Arabia where she worked in a government hospital in the city of Tabuk which is located in the northwest corner of the country near the border with Jordan. Many of her patients were women who would come in from the desert to deliver their babies. She was supposed to teach as well, but again many of the younger male doctors didn't want to be told what to do by a woman and so she focused on the medical work throughout her stay.

When she returned to Kansas City, she worked at the UMKC hospital. For five years she worked full time as a teacher and practicing physician. After five years working full time in this capacity, she began running the outpatient maternity clinic part-time. She enjoyed this particular job tremendously as the department chief was very supportive and allowed staff do what they felt was most needed and beneficial. Upon her retirement in the mid-nineties she felt blessed to have worked in such a pleasant and supportive environment.

One of her most challenging deliveries was a woman who was in labor for three days. Labor began but she failed to dilate. Rosie was beside her patient the entire time, sacrificing the beginning of her vacation to see it through to the end. After the delivery, she called her friend June to come and get her, she crawled into the back of the car and promptly fell asleep.

Rosemary still remembers the only patient she lost. This patient likely came into the hospital with an infection. In was necessary to break her water, and once this was done the baby came. As this was going on, two other patients came in unexpectedly and it was all hands on deck. Her patient lasted 2-3 days but finally succumbed to an infection.

Reflecting upon her career, Rosemary has no idea how many babies she delivered but says "it was enough". Still today she characterizes her career as being a baby catcher. Working as a baby catcher meant always being on call and says it was like working in the ER as catastrophes were always waiting to strike. Unlike some of her male colleagues, she remained with her patients from the first call through the delivery, often sleeping on carts in her patients room hoping things would progress rapidly. She had many offers to join private practice but felt flexibility of working at the hospital would be more suitable to her life style and allow for a better life balance.