Norman was born on January 16, 1932, by the Rock Creek south of Wisner to the late Arthur and Eugenia nee Loewe Kersten. He attended St. John’s Lutheran Parochial School and later graduated from Wisner High School in 1950. On October 6, 1957, he married Loha Ann Maurer of West Point, and so began their journey of a lifetime.

Their first years were spent on farms south of Wisner and they welcomed three children – Randal, Roger and Brenda. Norman worked with his father in general mechanic work and farm equipment repair service. He also did some farming and the family gardened and raised thousands of chickens for slaughter and sale.

In 1969, an injury forced Norman to change occupations, and in 1970, he and his wife opened the Golden Key Diner in Beemer. The following May, with a little push from Loha’s mother, they acquired the Trails Inn Motel and later that year the family moved from the farm into the three bedroom apartment in the motel, which remained their home until 2015. Together the family operated both businesses until March of 1975 when the Golden Key Diner was sold. In 1976, Norman bought 275 Auto Parts and in 1977 they purchased Beemer’s sanitation service. In October 1979, Norman and Loha, along with son, Randy, bought Tom’s Service and renamed it Kersten & Son Conoco Service. Throughout these years, Norman was seen at many a funeral as he assisted Ben of the Stalp Funeral Home. Over time, each of the businesses was sold with the last being the motel and service station in 2015 when they moved to West Point. 

Norman was a member of St. John Lutheran Church of rural Beemer, where he served as an usher and bell ringer, until it consolidated with Zion Lutheran Church south of Wisner to form Zion-St. John Lutheran Church and was recently a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in West Point.

Norman enjoyed spending time working on his model trains, tinkering with small engines and he and Loha enjoyed gardening. Together they sprayed for the bugs, caught critters, planted, weeded, and harvested the bounty of produce, including many thousands of gourds which made their way across the nation. Norman spent time everyday reading the newspaper, enjoyed visiting with the diverse variety of guests that stayed at the motel and could often be found in an engaging conversation with someone he had just met during their stay.