In delivering hundreds of motivational talks all over the country, Greg Risberg would often begin on a personal note, describing his own childhood and what it was liked being raised by a Swedish immigrant father.
More Top Picks Best Cat Bed
Painting a picture of a loving relationship — although not outwardly so — he’d unveil a copy of the famous Grant Wood painting “American Gothic,” revealing his uncanny resemblance to the male farmer with the pitchfork, to uproarious laughter.
“He loved sharing with his audiences funny and poignant stories that would touch their hearts, as well as their minds,” said his wife of 27 years, Madeleine Van Hecke. “He tried to renew hope in people, remind them of their own intrinsic value and help them think about what is most important in their lives.”
Mr. Risberg, 67, of Elmhurst, died Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Alexandria, Va. He collapsed inside his car in a parking lot before a speaking engagement and died of natural causes, his wife said.
Over more than three decades, Mr. Risberg brought his “Humor with a Message” programs to more than half a million people in 49 states, as well as Canada, England and Australia.
One of his signature speeches was “The Importance of Touching,” in which he would explain how vital touch is, and how everyone needs at least 12 hugs a day.
“He was so funny when he told his various stories and got volunteers from the audience to try different hugs,” said Kit Carlson, who met Mr. Risberg when she hired him to speak for a large nursing home company she worked for in the mid-1980s. “His talks made people laugh. They also made people cry.
“And as I got to know Greg, I loved him for his wry sense of humor and his gentle, open curiosity about the world and every person in it,” she said.
Mr. Risberg was well-known on the speakers circuit and a member of the National Speakers Association, a group that in 2002 awarded him its highest earned designation of Certified Speaking Professional. He also received the Wordsmith Award for speaking excellence from the Illinois chapter of the NSA in 1991.
“He wasn’t a household name, but thousands of people, including teachers, health care workers and government employees, had heard him speak,” his wife said.
A Chicago native, Mr. Risberg was raised in the Andersonville neighborhood on the North Side. He was a graduate of Amundsen High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Roosevelt University.
A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he taught at a middle school in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood as his alternative service. That led to a master’s degree in social work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, which led to a job as a social worker at Proviso Family Services in Westchester.
In 1981, Mr. Risberg began speaking professionally, initially to church and civic groups in the Chicago area. A few years later he spoke before an audience of insurance professionals at a meeting of the Million Dollar Round Table, after which his career took off.
“I think what struck people most about Greg was how disarmingly genuine he was, and how engaging and kind,” his wife said. “Some of the very same reasons I fell in love with him.”
Mr. Risberg was also the author of two books, “Touch: A Personal Workbook” and “52 Bright Ideas to Bring More Humor, Hugs and Hope into Your Life.”
Other survivors include a stepdaughter, Kalyn Wulatin; a stepson, David Wulatin; and a granddaughter.
Services were held.