“It has been slightly more than 30 years since I began my medical practice in the Paynesville area. As I look back, it hardly seems possible that these years have passed so quickly,” Dr. Dreyling said.
“I do not know how many independent family practitioners remain in Minnesota, but I would venture to say the number is very small. With all the mergers, assimilations, and changes taking place in medicine, I made the decision to leave the private practice of medicine and pursue other goals, both in and out of the field of medicine,” Dr. Dreyling said. “I will greatly miss my wonderful clinic staff and all the patients who have put their trust in me. These memories will remain with me. I am also looking forward to the new challenges life will bring me.”
“Behind all these choices and decisions, I have had the support of my wife Carol and our children. Carol’s wise council has made the path I have chosen much smoother and easier to travel than I had anticipated. Paynesville is still our home, and that is one thing we do not intend to change,” he added.
Jan Schneider has worked with Dr. Dreyling at the Lakeview Clinic for 23 years and states he has been one of the greatest bosses to have. “He taught me a lot over the years,” she said.
“I feel Dr. Dreyling has had a very positive impact on health care in Paynesville over the last 30 years. He has worked hard and has a very loyal patient population,” Willie LaCroix, hospital administrator, said.
“There is no question in my mind that his desire to expand his abilities has influenced the level of care patients receive in Paynesville,” LaCroix added. “Roger was always willing to learn and do new procedures. He led the way in scoping colonoscopy and EGDs for rural hospitals.”
LaCroix went on to say Dr. Dreyling was very active in recruiting physicians for the area long before the hospital. He built three clinics (Eden Valley, Lakeview and Belgrade) that are still in the hospital system. “We are going to miss having him around the hospital and his innovative techniques,” LaCroix added.
In 1956 Dr. Dreyling graduated from Johnson High School in St. Paul. His goal was to enter medical school as soon as possible after pre-med, but at the suggestion of his college advisor, he obtained a degree in physics and mathematics and then entered the University of Minnesota Medical School in the fall of 1962. He graduated from medical school in 1966 and served a rotating internship at San Bernardino County General Hospital in California.
While searching for practice possibilities, Dr. Dreyling received a telephone call from Dr. Ernie Aulick, describing the opportunities in Paynesville. “I explained to Ernie that I was really looking for a solo practice. His answer to that was an invitation to come to Paynesville and look over the situation which was to include my participation in a three-man group with Aulick and Dr. Ray Lindeman. I was also asked to serve as the sole physician in the Eden Valley Clinic,” Dr. Dreyling said.
Dr. Dreyling and his wife, Carol, found Paynesville an ideal situation and they moved their four children, Mark, Vicki, Cherri, and Kevin, here.
“Paynesville is a wonderful town to live in,” Carol Dreyling said. “It is small enough for the neighbors to know each other and big enough to offer many opportunities. There isn’t a finer place to raise children.”
Carol teaches piano to Paynesville area students and is responsible for the maintenance on their rental units. She also plays church organ at Zion Lutheran, Harrison Presbyterian, and Paynesville Lutheran Church, in addition to gardening in her free time.
Among his hobbies are golfing, hunting, archery, downhill skiing, and photography.
As part of his retirement, they plan on doing some traveling to visit their children: Becky attends Thomas More, a liberal arts college in New Hampshire, Vicki lives in Pembrooke, Fla., Cherri is a carpenter in Seattle, Wash. Carol proudly points out that Cherri is one of the carpenters working on billionaire Bill Gates home, which is taking three and a half years to build. Mark lives in Sedro Woolley, Wash., and Kevin remains close to home in St. Cloud.