Fernande (Ferney) Hastert Kuykendall

This article is eleventh in our series on Luxembourg Americans who have gone through the process of reclamation of Luxembourg nationality to become Luxembourg citizens. These dual citizens, who were assisted in their citizenship journey by Luxembourg Legacy, reflect the passion that new Luxembourgers in America have for all things Luxembourg. This month, we’re featuring Luxembourger Fernande (Ferney) Hastert Kuykendall, an avid photographer and writer, former Honorary Consul of Luxembourg for Arizona and New Mexico and one of the five original flight attendants for Luxair in Luxembourg.

By Mary Bolich

Fernande (Ferney) Hastert Kuykendall was a girl with big dreams. She wanted to be a pilot and see the world. While she never flew an airplane, she has travelled the world.

Ferney was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, on January 13, 1946, the only child of Théophile and Alice Hastert. Her father worked in banking his entire career and her mom was a homemaker. After graduating from high school, Ferney went to work for Luxair as one of the airline’s original five flight attendants

“I wanted to be a pilot, but that was not available in Luxembourg in those days. It was a man’s world, so the next best thing was to become a flight attendant,” Ferney said. “I just wanted to get out of little Luxembourg and see the world.”

In November 1968, Ferney met Bill Kuykendall, a U.S. Marine security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg, who had just arrived from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow (USSR). She went to the embassy to sign a condolence book for Robert Kennedy, which was circulating since his assassination. 

“Bill opened the door and it was love at first sight,” Ferney said. Bill proposed on their second date, and they married in October 1969 and moved to California, the first of many moves throughout their marriage. They lived in California and Luxembourg for a few years before Bill’s job took them to Singapore, Washington, Utah, Missouri and Arizona. They currently reside in Prescott, Arizona.

Bill, who retired as vice president of Graybar Electric Company, an international electrical distributor, travelled extensively for work. Ferney tended to their household, their dachshunds, her garden and her lifelong passion of photography.

“I was four or five years old when I got my first camera and I am still taking photos every day,” Ferney, who is 80, said. She published a coffee table photography book, “Sonoran Skies Sonoran Eyes,” and her photography, mainly of nature, wildlife and landscapes, has been featured in magazines, including “Arizona Highways” and “Prescott Living.” 

“Photography is my Zen; my Om,” she said. “My favorite thing to photograph is coyotes. My favorite bird is the turkey vulture.” She and Bill, both lovers of wildlife, were dedicated volunteers at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ferney is also a longtime freelance writer and she and Bill are chief contributors to the newsletter at their retirement community in Prescott.

“Those are the things that keep me going. My interests—and my husband. I love him to pieces.”

Ferney and Bill didn’t have children, so their lives revolved around their beloved Dachshunds. They had eight of them—always a pair—from 1979 to 2022. The last two were “Kachkeisheads,” or Cheeseheads, from a breeder in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Honoring her father
When Ferney’s father died in 2008, she decided to honor his memory by applying for an appointment as Honorary Consul of Luxembourg. 

“Typically, most honorary consuls are appointed as a kind of thank you. I wrote an application and sent it to the Luxembourg Embassy in Washington, D.C., which was actually pretty bold. Two years later, a phone call came from the Luxembourg Consul General in San Francisco. We met for dinner and two days later, I got the appointment. And then it was like the dog who chases the car and catches it—now what?” Ferney said. “I caught the car and the fun began.” 

Ferney served in the consular role of promoting business, tourism, cultural and educational exchange between Luxembourg and Arizona and New Mexico from 2011 until stepping down in 2021. She holds the title of Honorary Consul Emeritus and was awarded the Luxembourg Order of Merit for her decade of service. The best part?

“The people that I met; people who I would have never met under normal circumstances. It was like a who’s who of people from government to you name it. In my opinion, the best thing is always about the people.”

Luxembourg remains in her heart
When she got her U.S. citizenship, Ferney thought she had lost her Luxembourg citizenship. 

“I talked to Kevin [Wester], and he investigated it and told me I was still a Luxembourger. He submitted my documents and Luxembourg sent me a new certificate of nationality,” said Ferney. She then renewed her long-expired Luxembourg passport, mostly for sentimental reasons. 

“It’s nostalgia. It’s not like I’m going to fly around with that passport, but in my heart, it matters. I mean, you can take the kid out of Luxembourg, but you can’t take Luxembourg out of the kid.” 

On their last trip to Luxembourg, Ferney and Bill played tourists.

“You know, like the New Yorker who’s never been to the Statue of Liberty. Bill never really saw Luxembourg, so we toured all the stuff that your average tourist would see. For example, we hired a nice limo and drove to Vianden Castle, which Bill had never seen, and all the sites like that.” 

“It’s nostalgia. It’s not like I’m going to fly around with that passport, but in my heart, it matters. I mean, you can take the kid out of Luxembourg, but you can’t take Luxembourg out of the kid.” 

Ferney Hastert Kuykendall

Like most Luxembourgers, Ferney is multilingual and speaks Luxembourgish, French, German and English. She encourages dual citizens to learn Luxembourgish. As administrator of the Luxembourgers in North America Facebook group, which has 1,100 members, she tries to do a daily post in English and Luxembourgish. 

“I think it’s important, as a citizen, to know the language of your country.” 

While she feels it is important to engage through language and culture, she feels differently about dual citizens voting in Luxembourg. 

“I’m not for what I call ‘representation sans taxation.’ I simply do not know enough to vote in the EU elections. I understand that people are proud of their ancestry and their dual citizenship, but the right to vote is a privilege and you really need to know what’s going on there to vote on the issues and candidates.”

Another thing that makes her feel nostalgic is Luxembourg cuisine.

“You know, food is Luxembourg’s religion or hobby. At breakfast you talk about lunch. At lunch you talk about dinner. At dinner, you talk about breakfast. It all rotates around good food—the German stomach with the French palate.” 

The food she misses most is Kachkéis, a soft, gooey (kind of smelly) cheese smeared on bread and topped with mustard and pickles. Extra-delicious when accompanied by a beer, according to Ferney.

“If Kevin wants to leave a legacy, he needs to bring this cheese to Luxembourgers in America who are just going nuts missing it,” she said, laughing.