[1] Kersey was born on January 28, 1890, in New Jersey to Richard Wakefield Keysey and Abbie L. Brewer.

[2][3] Kersey was appointed by governor C. C. Young to succeed William John Cooper as the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In 1936, Kersey was elected as Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District after incumbent Frank A. Bouelle resigned due to ill health.

[4][5] In 1949, Keysey was selected to become the principal of Van Nuys High School and the director of the Los Angeles Valley College.

In 1955, Kersey was elected as the first vice president of the San Fernando Valley Youth Foundation.