E. Sue Denger, R.N.

is honored with a Medium Paver from Memorial Contribution and The Family of E. Sue Denger

E. Sue Denger, R.N.

E. Sue Denger was born in Dows Iowa on July 12, 1936. She attended rural school through the fifth grade then transferred to Dows Independent School where she completed her high school education in 1953. She attended Broadlawns Polk County School of Nursing in Des Moines, Iowa, graduating in 1956. In 1966, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa and an M.A. with a focus in nursing administration in 1968.
As a registered nurse, her career included 8 years of clinical practice in Iowa. During her more than 34 years of nurse executive practice and leadership, she lived and worked in five different states: Missouri, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Kansas. A faculty member of the nursing programs for Pennsylvania State University, University of Louisville, and Wichita State University, she also served as lecturer at ARANCO Oil Company in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Vice president of nursing for St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, she was the chief medical officer for the division of nursing where she helped to orchestrate the realignment of nursing division activities, as well as coordinate a project to implement a hospital-wide clinical information system. Prior to joining St. Francis, she was chief nursing executive at the University of Louisville Hospital from 1976 to 1983. Co-founder of the Coalition for Promotion of Nursing in Kansas, she served as president of the Kansas Organization of Nurse Leaders and the Kansas League for Nursing. At the national level, she served a two-year term as member of the board of directors of the American Organization of Nurse Executives.
Sue had a deep appreciation for people and considered one of her greatest fortunes to be her nursing career which allowed her to accomplish things through assisting others; accomplishments which would benefit both friends and strangers. Although her dream found her living in different parts of the country and traveling extensively, she never lost touch with her roots in Dows, Iowa. When she passed away in May of 2004, a memorial was established in her honor at WSU.