Kay Siblani, the late editor of The Arab American News who succumbed to cancer Jan. 1, 2013 was widely known for her work with the paper, but she wore many other hats throughout her life.  To her family, she was a passionate caregiver, who everyone could depend on when a health issue emerged. Siblani always went out of her way to care for relatives, and others.   “Every type of medical crisis that ever came up, she was the one to go to,” said Kenny Kendall, Siblani’s brother, and the head of distribution at TAAN. To some of the reporters, and colleagues she took under her wing as an editor, she’s being remembered as a mentor, whose guidance has left a mark on their work.  Zahra Huber, a writer and editor for WWJ, and former contributing writer and intern for TAAN during the summer of 2003, credits Siblani for making her the tough editor she’s today. 

“Sometimes I would think, ‘what is she doing with my article?’ But I’ve become a tougher editor. What she was doing is helping me develop my writing. It honestly helped me become tougher on myself. It was constructive criticism. Now when I edit, I don’t hold back,” Huber said.  Siblani was the executive editor of The Arab American News since its inception in 1984. Before co-founding TAAN, she was the head nurse at St. John Hospital in Detroit, and while her career in the medical field was cut short, she never took off her nursing hat, or stopped being passionate about health care. “I’ll tell you the truth, she never left nursing,” Kendall said. 

Siblani was the direct caregiver to one of her grandparents, and father before they passed away, in addition, she always stepped up to care for family members, and others  battling health issues or personal hardship. She would often be the first person to show up at the hospital, and consult with physicians in order to assure her family members were  being treated properly. In one case, Siblani even drove out of state to help cater to the needs of her nephew, who was suffering from a head injury. Judy Blovits, a retired nurse who helped train Siblani for management at the hospital, and one of her best friends also says Siblani never entirely left nursing, because even as an editor she spent time teaching and training health professionals on how to care for Arab and Muslim patients, and published a first of its kind comprehensive manual on how to treat Muslim patients in American hospitals. 

Kay Siblani after graduating from Nursing school, 10 years before she joined The Arab American News. PHOTOS: Kay’s family archives

Blovits said Siblani left nursing because it became too difficult for her to watch patients suffering, and know there was only so much she could do for them. “She cared too much about them,” Blovits said. Siblani’s passion for her patients made her stand out among other nurses. “She was not your typical nurse,” Blovits said. She was an innovative nurse, often coming up with new ways to treat patients. Blovits remembers Siblani having a “love” for history, and people of different cultures as a nurse. 

She says Siblani was just as much a dedicated nurse as she was an editor.  She recalled one incident when the two were Up North, and Siblani said she immediately had to leave to commit to the paper after receiving notice of an event unfolding in Lebanon.  Siblani could have returned to nursing at any given point, and to most that would have been the more wise choice, considering the financial hardships she endured at the paper.  Kendall says although he watched Siblani endure financial hardship throughout her career at TAAN, he never questioned her decision to leave nursing, because he knew she loved what she did.  “I know what she got out of it. This made her happy, doing this. Working the late nights, and not making money. I mean you don’t struggle, you don’t lose your house and everything like that and keep going at it if you don’t love it,” he said. “This paper was her pride and joy.” Even as her cancer progressed Siblani’s hope for the paper’s future stayed strong. “It was just as important to her right up until the

end,” he said. Unfortunately, Siblani’s battle with cancer prevented her visiting the paper’s newly remodeled office that includes a second floor, and marks a new chapter in its history. 

Kay Siblani listening to her granddaughter Brittany and nephews at the kitchen table.

Those who worked with Siblani or knew her personally, grew to admire her sense of humor. “When newspaper deadline pressure is really on and you’re really scrambling, when you feel like you’re going to vomit ink, something happens in your brain where you start making jokes. You start to feel a compulsion to have a few irreverent laughs with the people around you. And it calms your nerves and allows you to finish. I learned that from Kay,” said Khalil AlHajal, a government reporter for MLive.com, and former community news editor and reporter for TAAN.  

He says his favorite moment with Siblani came at the end of one long, grueling night in the office. After finally sending off the paper with a sigh of relief in the middle of the night, he was prepared to head home, when she sat down and popped a Rosetta Stone CD into her computer to practice Arabic. “She proceeded to comically over-pronounce Arabic 

words for everyone in the office, laughing hysterically. I was so proud that she was my boss,” he said.  Kendall also spoke Siblani’s sense of humor, saying even during times of crisis, she still maintained it. 

“The thing about her is even in all of these crisis’ she was off the wall goofy about doing things…She always had a sense of humor to have fun with whatever she was doing,” he said. 

While she had a lot of wit, she was always still very serious about her work. 

“When Kay sat down to write something, she poured her heart into it. She used to say it was like bleeding onto the page,” AlHajal said. 

In 2010 Siblani received a fellowship from New America Media on aging as part of the prestigious MetLife Aging Fellows Program. Only 15 journalists out of a pool of nearly 75 applicants were selected from both mainstream and ethnic media. 

Siblani went for training in 2010 to New Orleans, but wasn’t able to complete the fellowship and the series of articles on aging, because of health complications. 

“She was wonderful and highly interested in raising awareness on health issues among Arab Americans,” said Paul Kleyman, who worked with Siblani on the fellowship.   

He remembers Siblani being very enthusiastic about her work. “We were deeply disappointed she couldn’t finish it,” he said.

Many of the people who watched Siblani grow up would have never imagined her future including journalism, or her dedicating her life to advocating for Muslims and Arab Americans, but Kendall says Siblani was always “very open minded” and tolerant of people of different views and backgrounds. “Kay was a little out of the box and would have approached things in a way I wouldn’t have ever thought of. Her acceptance of people she wouldn’t just assume something, she would look at it from their perspective almost immediately,” he said.