Treemendous Gift
Joe and Suzie Roope hardly discussed the fly fisherman’s dream vacation trip they donated this year to Kootenai Medical Center’s Festival of Trees.
“It doesn’t surprise me Joey’d donate the trip,” Suzie says. “He’d do anything for the cancer center and this community.”
So would Suzie. Donating a weeklong trip to Christmas Island in the South Pacific didn’t seem excessive to either Roope. Not after both survived cancer and a devastating house fire.
“The support system we have in our family and friends is as strong as it can be,” Suzie says as customers browse in the Roopes’ Castaway Fly Fishing Shop in Coeur d’Alene. “This trip is an incredibly minor thing to give the (North Idaho) cancer center.”
Few fly fishermen consider a week on Christmas Island minor. For most, it’s a dream. Fish that swim a challenging 42 mph live around the arid atoll.
“Their explosive speed is incredible,” says Rick Peak, one of Castaway’s local fishing guides.
Anyone hooked on fly fishing knows Christmas Island, a thousand-plus miles south of Hawaii, is bonefish heaven. Joe knew. He grew up fly fishing with his dad, the elder Joe Roope.
Joe Jr., 33, survived cancer in his leg at 22. Survival seemed more certain if doctors removed his leg, but Joe wouldn’t let them. He relied on radiation, chemotherapy and positive thinking.
Seven years later and in fine health, he treated himself to fly fishing on fabled Christmas Island. Joe returned home ready to build a retreat on the rustic atoll for crowds of fishermen he believed dreamed of the island.
Big Eddie Corrie, a 6-foot-9-inch island native with bulk to match his height, offered to help. Joe brought Big Eddie home to meet Suzie three years ago, shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Like Joe, Suzie passed up extreme surgery for radiation. She held onto her optimism throughout her ordeal. She thanked her luck when Big Eddie moved into her home for two months during her treatment.
“I fell in love with him,” she says. “He’s an amazing, kind human being.”
Suzie’s treatment ended with bright forecasts two years ago as Big Eddie and Joe began constructing a lodge for 16 anglers on Christmas Island.
They covered the roof with palm leaves, and added toilets, refrigeration and washers and dryers - conveniences not available on most of the island.
Suzie flew to the island for the first time last Christmas Day when the lodge opened. An airliner lands there only on Sundays.
She helped Joe launch the lodge into business. He hired local guides, cooks and staff, then promoted weeklong stays there for fishermen. Suzie flew home after six weeks. She arrived the day fire leveled the Roopes’ Hayden Lake house.
Even Suzie’s wedding rings melted. Joe couldn’t leave the island to help until a plane arrived a week later.
Family and friends embraced the distraught couple while they tried to function. Insurance paid for a new home, but nothing replaced the keepsakes Suzie and Joe had collected together.
The popularity of the new lodge helped. Fishermen from around the world clamored for the 12 spots open each week. The unstructured island pace fit Joe’s dreams. The warm, easy-going people inadvertently blocked any depression from settling on him.
Joe decided to share his contentment with the Festival of Trees this year. His family and Suzie’s have donated to the festival for 10 years. The $3,000 trip is a first for them. The festival will auction it at its posh gala Saturday night, along with a playhouse and other items.
Money the festival raises will go toward buying a radiation machine with a sharp focus on tumors.
“Life is an adventure with Joey, which I accept,” Suzie says, laughing. She heard about the trip donation when the festival called. “We’re both in excellent health. We’re just strong human beings. We think we’re fortunate.”
These sidebars appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Festival
The Festival of Trees runs today through Monday at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Tickets are available for every event save Saturday night’s gala, which is sold out. For tickets and information, call (208) 666-TREE or (208) 666-2345.
FESTIVAL Full schedule
Tonight’s family night starts at 5:30 p.m. and costs $2.
The senior social starts at 10 a.m.
Saturday. Tickets cost $5 and include entertainment, breakfast and prizes.
Sunday’s Family Day opens at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $1.
The Holiday Fashion Show starts Monday at 11:30 a.m. and includes lunch. Tickets cost $27.50. A Champagne Evening show will start at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $20.