Full-time lecturer Ethel Kluesner died at the age of 61 years old on Oct. 23, 2024.
Kluesner had been with EMU for over 20 years, teaching communication courses that included Listening, Nonverbal Communication, Speech, Intercultural, and Interpersonal. She also received her bachelor's and master's degrees from EMU in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
In addition to teaching at EMU, she also taught at Lansing Community College. Kluesner also was one of the first professors to teach online classes before they became more common post-COVID-19.
“I'll always remember her willingness to discuss difficult topics and her grace during times of uncertainty,” Amy Bearinger, full-time lecturer of Communication and former student of Kluesner’s said.
Kluesner was known for being a team player and compassionate. She had also received many MVP (Most Valuable Professor) honors from student-athletes and had her classes sought out by students in her career at EMU.
“My office was across the small hallway from Ethel Karinen Kluesner’s office, a colleague in my department, but I’d never had the pleasure of taking one of her classes. Her door was always open, our schedules matched for several years and she gratefully took me under her wing, fluffed my feathers, and steadied my quaking knees with her guidance, and pearls of wisdom and stoked my creative fires as we lunched and planned the lessons to come,” Deborah Samuels, full-time lecturer of Communication and colleague of Kluesner’s said.
Aside from teaching enjoyed spending time in the Upper Peninsula with her family, friends, and beloved animals.
Online tributes for Kluesner may be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com
Donations can be made to the Michigan Humane Society in honor of Kluesner through the obituary on Sharp Funeral Home’s website.
