Hon. Susan V. Kelley

Judge Susan Van Lieshout Kelley, of Greenfield and McFarland, passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of her family.

Susan was the oldest of seven children born in seven years to Dr. Francis X. Van Lieshout and Josephine June (Mayhew) Van Lieshout. She grew up in Little Chute and attended St. John Nepomucene. As a child she was inflicted with polio but recovered to become a champion swimmer. She was a dedicated student, a natural leader and caregiver, and competitive by nature. She attended Badger Girls State and was a talented seamstress and fashionista. She received her B.A. from Marquette University and J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. Following graduation and clerkship, she established a bankruptcy law practice in Baltimore.

Following the birth of her two children in two years, Susan moved her law practice to Madison. She was active in the State Bar of Wisconsin, and served as the first female chair of its Bankruptcy Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights Section. She was a member of the executive committee of the board of governors. Throughout her successful legal career, Susan was known for her competence and sound judgment. Many of her classmates, clients, and colleagues became lifelong friends.

In 2003 Susan was appointed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. During her 15-year tenure on the bench, she presided over a number of high-profile bankruptcies, but she took pride in all her cases large and small. She was extremely proud of her efforts to establish a pro-se help-desk to provide assistance in the bankruptcy process to individuals without lawyers. While on the bench, she served as editor-in-chief of the Ginsberg & Martin on Bankruptcy treatise, and was as an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.  She enjoyed officiating weddings for her friends and their children.

On a college graduation trip, Susan visited and fell in love with New Mexico and vowed to live there in the future.  So, she knew it was fate when in 1992 she met her loving partner, Nick Vollendorf, a New Mexico native. They shared a love for live music, sports (especially while her team was winning), and traveling. Their recent travels took them to Japan, Botswana, Namibia, Bilbao, France, Italy, and South Africa. Together they attended more than 1,000 concerts. They loved Summerfest, traveling for national shows, and local Madison bands.

Susan took immense pride in her children and was a constant presence at their school and sporting events. She enjoyed and instilled in her children a strong work ethic, lifelong love of learning, excellent taste in music, and a compassion for others. Like her own mother, Susan enjoyed reading cookbooks. She was a wonderful cook and hosted elaborate themed holiday dinners and even more elaborate Brewer tailgates. She was both fun and funny and inherited the Van Lieshout love of storytelling. In retirement she was lucky enough to spend considerable time caring for her adored grandchildren.

After her children largely retired from sports, she channeled her competitive energy into competing in the Wisconsin State Fair. Susan’s cooking, baking, canning, and horticulture entries won countless blue ribbons, Best of Category, Best of Division, and Judge’s Favorite designations. She was delighted to be well enough to submit entries to the 2025 State Fair with the assistance of her dear friends.

Susan will be deeply missed by her family. She is survived by her husband, Nick Vollendorf, children Fran and Eileen and their treasured spouses, Claire and Joe, seven grandchildren, and her siblings, David (Megan), John (Missy), Monica, Mary, Paul (Liz), and Ellsbeth. She is also survived by numerous cherished nieces and nephews, cousins, and countless friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her step-daughter, Khira Hahnel.

Susan wished to acknowledge the loving support she received throughout her illness. The family appreciates the professionalism and compassion shown to Susan by her doctors and caregivers and especially the care of her speech therapist, Lizzy Balsiger, who brought so much joy to the past year.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in support of Pancreatic Cancer Research at http://give.wiscmedicine.org/SusanKelley, The Friends of PBS Wisconsin, or to a charity of your choosing.