29 Dec Dan Kersey-Russell

Dan Kersey-Russell, 63, of Bismarck, ND passed away on December   27th, 2022 after a long battle with pneumonia due to several viral infections and health issues.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, December 30, 2022 at McCabe Methodist Church, Bismarck, ND.   Family will be receiving friends one hour prior to the service.  A livestream of the available on the church website, https://www.mccabechurch.com/livestream/

Dan was born on June 29th, 1969, to David and Janice (Brown) Russell in Oceanside, CA at the US Naval Base Hospital in Camp Pendleton. His mother remarried and moved the family to Grand Forks, ND. He became one of eleven brothers – step, full, and half.  After Dan graduated from Central High School in 1977, he married and had three children.  He was the second chef on staff at the iconic Whitey’s in East Grand Forks for the next 23 years where he learned the art of making liver pâté and chicken wild rice soup.

In 1997, Dan met Jeanine (Kersey) O’Neal. Dan and Jeanine married and changed their last names to Kersey-Russell on April 17th, 1998. Both very independent and looking for interdependence, they combined their names into one. Dan adopted Jeanine’s son, Bill, and went on to have triplet boys and adopt five more children. Their marriage was a strong one of work and play that lasted 25 years. Dan loved fostering children; together, they had over 80 children come and go from their home.

In his work life, Dan had many jobs. In Bismarck, he worked at St. Alexius in housekeeping, at the CAT bus as a driver, Denny’s as a cook, and Good Samaritan Nursing Home. Most recently, he was a bus driver for Harlow’s bus service taking children to and from school which he loved.

Dan had many hobbies, and all revolved around his love for his children. He began volunteering with the Boys Scouts in the late 90’s. During his time in Scouting, he helped as a scoutmaster and was the proud father of four Eagle Scouts. When at home, he and his family worked together on a variety of home projects including building a treehouse for their kids. He loved the outdoors and camping, and instilled this love in his children. Dan also liked to travel with his family and made many happy memories across the U.S.

Dan will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.  They draw comfort in knowing that he is healthy and is reunited in heaven with his parents and several other loved family members and friends.