Romaine Belle Bayless, MD, age 78, of Woodbury, MN, passed away on Monday, February 19, 2024, following a courageous 4-year battle with pancreatic cancer. She was born in Chillicothe, OH, and graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1963. She then continued her undergraduate studies at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Upon earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1967, she began her career as a systems engineer for IBM Corporation.

Dr. Bayless eventually furthered her education by attending medical school at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, and was awarded her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1978. She then completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, in 1982, and soon after began serving on active duty in the US Navy as a staff Obstetrician/Gynecologist at the U.S. Naval Hospital on the island of Guam.

Following her tour of active duty, Dr. Bayless completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in 1986 at Yale University in New Haven, CT. She then became a full-time faculty member at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria for 6 years, after which she accepted a position as Director of the Fertility and Reproductive Medicine Center of Central Illinois. After leaving Peoria, she became a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the Advanced Reproductive Center in Rockford, IL. Her career eventually led her to Woodbury, MN, where she was a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Reproductive Medicine and Infertility Associates from 2003 until her retirement in 2015. 

Dr. Bayless was a Life member of ASRM and a long-time volunteer “Red Coat” on the ASRM Sessions Management Committee.