Susan Kloosterboer

Susan Keeffe Kloosterboer, a resident of Hudson, WI, and retired dental hygienist and longtime teacher of dental hygiene at Madison College in Madison, WI, died August 31. She was 72.

A native of Madison, WI, Sue earned a B.S degree in dental hygiene at Marquette University and an M.S, in public health and adult education from UW-Platteville. Sue married John Kloosterboer of Alto, WI, in 1981. She was the mother of Michael and Kayla of Minneapolis, and Megan of Boston, and grandmother of four. Sue and John, who lived most of their lives in Madison, moved to Hudson in 2024 to be closer to their children and grandchildren in nearby Minneapolis.

A beloved teacher and passionate volunteer, Sue spent years using her skills to help the less fortunate and worked to instill that same spirit in her students. She believed it was especially important for students to learn, before they begin their careers, to use their acquired skills to help others. For many years, she was co-leader of an annual trip to Belize – with dental students, another dental hygiene teacher, and a dentist – to bring dental care to people who had never received it.

In 2010, Sue received the Excellence Award from NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development), an annual recognition of individuals nominated by their technical colleges for stellar performance. In 2012, Sue and her son Michael, an engineer who has developed external and implantable medical devices, created and successfully marketed an advanced dental plaque-detection tool, “Calculus Detection Pro,” for dental-hygiene faculty and students.

Sue enjoyed summers with her family at their lake cabin in northern Minnesota and winter stays at their beachfront condominium in Mexico. After retiring, Sue and John traveled extensively throughout Europe, Africa, South America, and North America with frequent trips to visit the Boston family.

Donations may be made in her honor to the Madison College Dental Hygiene Program.

A celebration of life will be planned later.