Susan Kaetz, 65, died May 7, 2015 at her home on Vashon Island.

She had lived on Vashon for the past 12 years and leaves behind a great love for the Island as well as many family and friends on both North American coasts and in between.

Susan was born in 1949 in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in Hamden, Connecticut.

She graduated in 1971 from Boston University with a degree in psychology. She received a MPH degree in Health Education and Health Services Administration from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut and a Masters in Acupuncture from the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NIAOM) in Seattle. Her first position was as a Health Education specialist in Waterville, Maine where she worked for three years before moving to Seattle in 1978. From 1987 to 1990, Susan was Program Director for the AIDS Education and Training Center at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine. She was a lecturer in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Washington from 1987 through 1992.

Susan was the Director of Community Clinics at NIAOM, as well as serving on the Academic and Clinic Faculty until NIAOM closed. She functioned as Teach-out coordinator during the time that NIAOM was subsumed under the auspice of Bastyr University. From 2003 until 2012, she was a member of the Adjunct Clinical Faculty of Bastyr University directing clinics at Harborview Hospital.

Susan also used her skills to make life better for countless animals and inspired many to begin or continue to care for dogs, cats and horses in many kinds of ways.

Since receiving her degree in Acupuncture, Susan maintained a private clinical practice mainly at her home on Vashon.

She was the daughter of Harvey W. Kaetz, MD, who was Assistant Director of the Yale Health Services in New Haven after retiring from private practice and Rhea S. Kaetz, a former nurse.

She leaves behind her sister, Deborah, brother, David, his wife, Elisabeth Haas, and niece, Avia Moore, as well as her most beloved dog, Cody.

Susan was known for her ability to nurture people in their personal and professional lives, her sense of humor and infectious laughter, her administrative ability, and her ongoing love for animals especially her dogs. She leaves many, many friends gathered from different parts of her life and loved that the connections she helped to make between people, animals and caring for others continue to flourish and evolve.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary,Doctors Without Borders or the charity of your choice