Michele Ann-Marie Kuester

Michele A. Kuester of Vienna, VA died during the early hours of November 23, 2020 due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS. She was 52 when she died. Her family was a constant, loving presence in her final days.

Michele was born in Detroit, MI on December 21, 1967, where she lived several years before moving with her family to Boston, MA and then Kensington, MD. Michele is a long-time resident of the Washington, DC area, where she lived for over 40 years. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in business before continuing her education at the American Graduate School of International Management or Thunderbirds in Phoenix, AZ. There, she earned her Master’s degree in International Management and developed life-long friendships. After graduation, she joined the Export Import Bank of the United States, where she spent the entirety of her 30-year career, earning many promotions, honors, and distinctions. She ultimately achieved the rank of Senior Vice President for Strategy and Planning.

Michele was voraciously curious and an avid reader. She often channeled her curiosity into explorations of other cultures, through language, cuisine, and travel. Over her lifetime, she studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian. She was also an accomplished home chef, teaching herself classic French techniques, to the delight of the people in her life. She also loved to travel, when she had an opportunity to do so, and particularly loved the cities of Paris and San Francisco.

Even as a child, Michele was fiercely and determinedly independent. But despite her self-reliance, Michele’s life is probably best defined by her relationships, with her friends, her family, and her colleagues. Michele loved to teach and to guide others to personal successes and took great pride and satisfaction in watching others develop new understandings or gain new skills.

Michele is survived by her parents Fran and Jerry, her siblings Steve, Cathie, Judy, and Jeremy, her 8 nieces and nephews, her dear friends Erin and Jeff, and all of the other friends and co-workers whose lives she gracefully touched.

Due to COVID-19, there will be no formal services for Michele. Those wishing to remember Michele are encouraged to leave comments on this website. An in-person celebration of Michele’s life will be scheduled after restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings are lifted, hopefully at some point in 2021.

In lieu of flowers, loved ones wishing to honor Michele are encouraged to donate funds to one of the causes below, which were particularly meaningful to Michele: