She had a brother named Victor, who predeceased her, as did her parents, Frederick Oscar (formerly Wehrstedt) and Florence Ophelia (née Jones).
During World War II she worked with the Family Welfare Bureau and the Australian Imperial Forces Women's Association, and later Secretary of the Hospital Almoners' Institute.
Shortly before his appointment as Governor-General of Australia was announced on 27 February 1974, she had had a serious fall which sprained an ankle and fractured a wrist.
Shortly after the announcement she was diagnosed with a serious illness (the exact nature of which was not publicly revealed), but she was well enough to travel to London for Sir John and her to be received by the Queen.
[9][2] She was survived by her husband and three children: Gabrielle Kibble, a town planner and later NSW State Director of Planning;[10][11] Kristin Johnson, a psychiatrist;[12] and Philip Kerr, a solicitor.
In her short time as a governor-general's spouse, Lady Alison Kerr had dispensed with the requirement for women to curtsey to her and her husband.