PORTSMOUTH—Katharine "Kitty" Leigh Clark Kersey passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, with her loving family surrounding her as she departed for the pearly gates.

Kitty was born in Winchester, Virginia, on February 8, 1935, the youngest child and only daughter of Dr. Edward T. Clark and Katharine Essex Clark. She was predeceased by her older brothers, James Essex Clark (Jim) and Edward Thomas Clark (Ed). Kitty is survived by her husband of nearly 65 years, Dr. L. Wilbur Kersey; her daughter, Dr. Barbara Kersey (David Steinhauer); her sons, David and Marc (Kristina); and her grandchildren: Hannah and Ben Steinhauer, Kellen and Keaton Kersey.

She grew up in the First Baptist Church of Winchester where her father was the senior minister for 47 years. Kitty Leigh, as she was known growing up, attended John Handley High School in Winchester, VA, and Westhampton College (University of Richmond) for her undergraduate degree.

She married Luther Wilbur Kersey in 1956. In the ultimate love story, they were childhood sweethearts, head cheerleader and captain of the football team in high school, and friends and partners for a lifetime, even being Minnie and Mickey Mouse in Memorial Day Parades and Halloween. After they married, they immediately departed for Southeastern Seminary where Wilbur received his Masters of Divinity. They moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, in June of 1959, when their firstborn daughter was only weeks old, where Wilbur became the minister at Court Street Baptist Church. Together they embarked on a journey that would span over 60 years, both teaching Sunday school, with Wilbur preaching and Kitty singing in the choir and directing the annual Christmas pageant.

In her lifelong quest to utilize her gifts to the fullest, Kitty embarked on a teaching career in 1969 and then enrolled at the University of Virginia for a Masters and Doctorate in Early Childhood education, all while being a full time mother and kindergarten teacher.  Kitty's legacy is one of positivity. Her message was always, "Water the grass, not the weeds," and her teachings were of respect and kindness to everyone, especially to children.

Kitty will be fondly remembered for the positive impact that she had on so many lives as a loving mother and grandmother, as a beloved minister's wife, as a professor and chairman of the Department of Early Childhood Education at Old Dominion University, as an author of parenting books and newspaper columns, and as an indispensable part of the Portsmouth community.

We will miss her smile, her kindness, her presence. We deeply cherish the time that we had with her and the lessons we learned from her numerous examples of how to be the best people that we can be and create a positive influence in the world. She is missed, yet her legacy will endure.

A Celebration of Life will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 18, 2021, at Court Street Baptist Church, 447 Court St., Portsmouth, VA 23704.  Please visit this link to RSVP. The service will be livestreamed here. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Court Street Baptist Church (CSBC) Endowment Fund, in Memory of Katharine C. Kersey. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.