Remembering Piney Kesting

Anera mourns the loss of Piney Kesting, a longtime board member, writer, and friend who died peacefully on Tuesday, September 22, at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Boston. She was 72. Piney is survived by Kevin, her beloved husband of 42 years, and their two daughters, Tea and Zoe.

Piney was a longtime Anera board member, writer and friend whose curiosity, generosity and deep commitment to the people of the Middle East touched our organization for many years.

She was a writer and editor who devoted much of her career to helping people better understand the Middle East and its people. For more than 30 years, she was a contributor to AramcoWorld, beginning in 1989 and writing about subjects ranging from Saudi Arabia and Arab music to literature, art, history, film and the lives of people whose stories might otherwise have gone untold. Her work also appeared in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, Arab News, Asharq Al Awsat and other publications.
She believed deeply in the power of a good story to bring people closer together.

In a 2024 reflection on her years writing for AramcoWorld, Piney described what she valued most about the work: giving readers a chance to enter worlds different from their own and encouraging them to see the commonalities that connect people across cultures. She had a particular gift for finding the human story inside history, politics, art and culture.

That same curiosity and compassion shaped her relationship with Anera.

Piney’s connection to the Palestinian refugee experience began while she was a student at the University of Munich in the late 1970s. She joined a grassroots effort collecting medicines and medical supplies for Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. She and fellow volunteers traveled through Lebanon distributing the supplies, an experience that left a lasting impression on her.

Years later, that commitment brought her to Anera’s board, where she served for many years and chaired the governance committee. She brought to the organization her knowledge of the region, her experience as a writer and editor, and her determination to understand people and places on their own terms.

Piney also wrote for Anera. In a 2019 blog piece, she reflected on her first encounter with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and how that experience shaped her understanding of the region. She visited Anera programs and wrote about the people and communities we serve, including children growing up in Lebanon’s refugee camps.

For Piney, these were never simply stories about a distant place. They were stories about people.

“I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Middle East with Piney, alongside two other board members, Victoria Sams and Teresa Barger, in 2024,” says Liz Demarest, vice president of communications at Anera. “Piney was such a joy to travel with, as she was a compassionate listener and felt a deep empathy for the people we met along the way who were benefiting from the programs that Anera delivers. Her warmth and humor made people feel comfortable wherever she went. I and all of the extended Anera family will miss her so very much.”

Anera was fortunate to have Piney around our board table for so many years. We are even more fortunate to have called Piney a colleague and friend.

“We will remember Piney for her kindness, devotion to humanity, sensitivity, sharp mind, generous spirit, her love of the Middle East and her belief that learning about one another can make the world feel more humane,” says Joe Saba, chair of the board. “She made immeasurable contributions to Anera. I am personally grateful to her for her guidance to me, the executive committee and the entire Anera Board of Directors over the years. She was ever present for advice on all matters Anera. And her advice was always spot-on. I will miss her very much.”

We extend our deepest condolences to Piney’s family, friends, colleagues and all those who knew and loved her.