Susan Kay Southard Busfield, 69, of Allegan went to be with the Lord on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Susan was born on July 7th, 1954 in Allegan, daughter of the late Martin and Kathryn Southard and lived in Allegan her entire life. She graduated Allegan High School in 1972 and worked at Ben Franklin’s in Downtown Allegan until becoming a stay-at-home mom to her children in the late 70’s and early 80’s. In 1984 Susan started her career with Allegan Public Schools that lasted until her retirement in 2021. During that time, she was a co-founder of Summer Buddies, a thematic summer learning program where she taught with her business partner, Sara Brennan Fundora, from 2001 to 2019. Susan found so much joy and fulfillment from working with students, it truly was her calling. Besides her love for teaching, Susan was an avid reader and loved going to the library to pick up a new book. She was known for raising and releasing Monarch butterflies, a passion she shared with her children and all of her grandchildren. Susan loved her home and lead a comfortable and simplistic lifestyle. In her retirement she enjoyed going shopping or out for coffee with friends and more than anything she loved spending time with her family, which she cherished dearly, especially her grandchildren. Surviving are her children, Benjamin Busfield, Sara (Floyd) Decker; her significant other of 36 years, Dale Halstead, along with his children, Jeff (Gloria) Halstead, Jenny (John) Haas and Josh Halstead; grandchildren, Gabriel and Anson Decker, Gavin, Nathan and Sam Halstead, Kaylee Haas, Alex and Nicholas Halstead. She was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved yellow Labrador, Remington. Following her wishes, cremation has taken place. The family will meet friends and family on Friday, February 2nd from 11:00 AM until time of the memorial service at 1:00 PM at the Bloomingdale Chapel, D. L. Miller Funeral Home, www.dlmillerfuneralhome.com, Pastor Josh Odell officiating. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to Pine Trails Elementary School.