Susan Jean Madden

Susan J. Madden, age 68 of Westminster, Colorado, passed away on October 3, 2026. She was born on August 22, 1958, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the third daughter of John F. Madden and Dolores E. Madden (Prokott). Susan was preceded in death by her parents, two siblings who died in infancy, Mary and David, sisters Jo Turner and Patty Madden and a niece and nephew who died in infancy, Flannery and Connor Madden. She is survived by her brother John (Theresa Greiner), sisters Donna Russell (Steve) and Sandy Madden, brothers-in-law John Harding and Kevin Turner, nephews Jesse Harding (Pat Shiu) and Jackson Madden, and her husband of 28 years, Allen Oberlander and sister-in-law Elaine Johnson (Dan Craig), as well as many caring aunts, uncles and cousins. She was a dear friend to many and godmother/honorary aunt to several of their children.

Susan lived in Minneapolis until age 4. Her father got a new job and the family moved to El Paso, Texas for less than a year. The family then moved to the Denver, Colorado area and she gained another sister. Here Susan (Sue) grew up and lived the rest of her life, but there were many family trips back to Minnesota, as well as to California, Washington D.C., New York, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and back to Texas. Her parents and some siblings moved to California while Sue was in college, but her parents moved back to Colorado in retirement.

Sue was a wonderful singer, and appeared in choir performances, musicals and plays in high school, where she met many lifelong friends. Sue had two very influential art teachers who encouraged her to develop her talents at painting, drawing, sculpture, pottery throwing and calligraphy, and she remained close friends with them as well. Sue was very smart and had a sharp wit, always ready with a quick remark.

Sue started her college career at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she made more lifelong friends, including many Japanese exchange students, fostering her deep interest in Japan and Japanese language and culture. She obtained her BFA degree from the University of Colorado at Denver while working fulltime, and later earned her MA in International and Intercultural Communications from the University of Denver.

Sue rapidly put her artistic skills to work when she became a graphic artist for Western Electric, then moved to AT&T, which at that time was a huge international conglomerate, where she gained even more close friends. Sue worked in various positions at AT&T, including PR, Sales, HR and Diversity and Training development. Many of these roles required extensive travel throughout the United States. After retiring from AT&T, Sue was a business consultant and created hand-painted glassware.

In 1997, her sister Donna introduced Allen, whom she knew through work, to Sue, and they were married at St. Mark Catholic Church on January 3rd, 1998.

Sue had a love of traveling, and in 1985, after she got her degree in fine art, she decided to reward herself with a voyage to Europe to see some of the amazing art in person, and she was joined by Patty, Donna and Steve. In 1986, all five of the sisters and Steve met on the East Coast and visited Boston, New England and New York. Sue also went on cruises and many other trips, including to Mexico and Banff in Canada. After they were married, Sue and Allen returned to some of these favorite locales, and added many more, including Fiji, Australia, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Colombia. Through work and leisure travel, Sue came very close to visiting all 50 states.

Sue loved animals, and she got her first pet, Rocky the golden, silky haired cat, after she first moved to Westminster. She loved her brother’s and sisters’ and friends’ pets as well. Allen had Mike the scaredy cat and Sam the sweet 120-pound Chesapeake Bay retriever when he and Sue merged their households. Mike and Sam took to Sue right away. A while after these two beloved animals had passed away, they adopted the petite 80-pound Ebbie, also a Chessie, and were so glad they did. Both dogs at a point in their lives needed special care, and Sue was devoted to them. Sue and Allen gave to multiple animal charities, including a donkey rescue.

With the gift of amazing recall, Sue seemed to know the lyrics to almost every song ever written. This was just one of many topics where her extensive knowledge of trivia made her an excellent Jeopardy couch contestant. She loved movies and was a member of the Denver Film Society for many years. She wasn’t shy about sharing her politics, but she would listen to other views, as long as they were based on the truth. She was a big sports fan - Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies, tennis and cycling. She not only watched cycling, she rode regularly for years and even rode on a few tours, including the nearly-500-mile-long Ride the Rockies.

Sue was a very caring daughter, sister, aunt, wife and friend. There was no more fierce advocate for someone who needed help, or ready participant in a 5K for a worthy cause. She and Allen helped care for his mother, Mary, who lived in Illinois. She also spent a great deal of time helping her parents when they were active seniors. She’d go with them and Donna to the Westminster fitness center/pool, take them to many medical appointments, and even dealt with problems with health insurance claims. She and Allen also helped them with computer and tech issues. When Dolores could no longer be by herself for very long, Sue worked with Donna and Steve to visit more often, playing Scrabble, having lunch, watching tv, and making Dolores laugh, because Sue was FUNNY, and is dearly missed.

Sue’s memorial service will be held on November 6, 2026, at 10:00 am at Olinger Highland Mortuary, 10201 Grant St, Thornton, CO 80229, followed by a reception with light refreshments. The service will be live streamed.

Donations can be made to any of the following organizations, or to a charity of your choice: American Cancer Society at https://www.cancer.org (click on the Give in Honor and Memorial button); Caruso Family Charities at https://www.carusofamilycharities.org; Bergen Spay & Neuter Alliance https://bergenspayandneuter.org