Anne M. Piper

Anne M. Piper of Keene, NH passed away peacefully on March 8 in the presence of family. Anne was the daughter of Czech immigrants Mary and Stephen Macechok who settled in northern New Jersey, where she grew up. Anne attended public schools in Elizabeth, NJ, followed by business school and a corporate job at Standard Oil Company (ESSO). During this time she met Roy Piper, who was in the area doing subcontracting work. Roy was the love of her life, and they soon married and moved to Roy’s home town of Keene where they built a house on West Street and raised four children. Anne and Roy lived on West Street for 64 years before eventually moving to a retirement home where they spent their last years.

For a short period Anne worked at the Keene Clinic before starting her family. She later sat on many local community boards including The Salvation Army, The Keene Unitarian Universalist Church Board of Trustees, and the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery, where she arranged bus trips to art galleries in New York and around New England. Anne was also a member of the Keene Country Club and the Keene Racquet Club, where she enjoyed playing tennis many times a week. She was a prolific volunteer, a fine art painter, a member of the Keene U.U. church choir, and loved cross country skiing and attending live theater in Boston with her theatergoer group. Anne was a renowned excellent cook and host. She delighted in summers at Spofford Lake and along the Maine coast where she often painted coastal landscapes.

In the 1980s Anne started her antique business, which took her from New York City to Grosse Pointe, MI, to Naples, FL and all points between, selling her fine silver and linens at high-end antique charity shows and events. She enjoyed meeting numerous celebrities at these events and regaled her family with stories about these encounters. Through her antiquing, Anne became close friends with the late Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame. Anne was later joined in her business by her husband, Roy, when he retired from his land surveying business.

Anne was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Stephen, John, and George, by a daughter Leslie Miglietta in 2019 and husband Roy in 2021. She is survived by son Jon Piper and wife Beth of North Newton, KS, son Stephen Piper and wife Susan of Dover, NH, daughter Kathrine Piper and husband Chad Swahnberg of Keene, NH, son-in-law John Miglietta of Bethel, CT, grandchildren Joshua Piper and wife Ashley, Emily Piper and husband Matthew Root, Samuel Piper, James Miglietta and wife Hannah Dym, Thomas Miglietta and wife Kylie, Aaron Piper, and Lily Swahnberg, great grandchildren Theo Piper and Wilona Piper, sister-in-law Frances Macechok, and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church, or Home Healthcare Hospice & Community Services.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 5th at 11:00 AM at the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church, 69 Washington Street, Keene, NH.