Dr. Kelly J. Rhoades retired in May 2019, as the Chair of the Hospice and Palliative Studies Department in the College of Nursing and Health, Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. 

Dr. Rhoades completed her Ph.D. in 1994 at Michigan State University, College of Social Sciences, in Family Ecology/Marriage and Family Therapy. She began working specifically with grieving families within hospice bereavement programs in 1987. She created and taught courses specific to  hospice care and bereavement services for over 25 years, becoming Department Chair in 1999.  

Dr. Rhoades taught graduate courses in bereavement theory and family systems theory, and supervised graduate students in field placements and capstone research activities. Ongoing research interests include grieving family dynamics and the healing potential of transformative grief, using qualitative methodology and narrative study to explore the healing potential, and adaptive aspects of grieving. She is the author of a story book about children’s grief, entitled, “Quilly’s Sideways Grief,” that includes activities for children, and tips for parents, teachers, and counselors.

Dr. Rhoades believes that her greatest accomplishment has been that of becoming a mother and sharing the parenting role of their daughter with her husband, Jeff. Her hobbies include freelance writing and photography, Great Lakes freighter gazing, sketching, painting, and walking her English Setter.