Louis James Risi was an American manufacturing and business executive whose career included leadership of Norin Corporation, Norris Grain Company, CTC Corporation, and several other enterprises. He also held executive and governing roles in professional hockey, served as a United States Naval Reserve lieutenant commander, and supported Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Background
Louis James Risi was born on July 2, 1937, in Highland Park, Illinois, to Louis J. Risi and Ann E. Risi. He grew up in the Chicago area and later built a business career that connected manufacturing, food processing, transportation, insurance, banking, entertainment, agriculture, and professional sports.
Risi married his high-school sweetheart, Mary Jean Anson, on January 15, 1958. They remained married for 71 years and raised three children, Steven, Janet, and Andrew. In later life, the family was based in the Coral Gables, Florida, area, where Risi remained involved in business, community service, and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Education
Risi earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897 as Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Bradley developed as a private university combining liberal-arts education with professional and technological training in the industrial Midwest.
He later received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. The university's Booth School of Business, established in 1898, was among the leading American centers for graduate business education and was particularly associated with analytical approaches to management, finance, and economics.
Career
Risi began his professional career with Arthur Young and Company in Chicago while pursuing further business education. He subsequently entered corporate management and became president and chief executive officer of Norin Corporation in Miami from 1969 to 1981, serving also as a director and member of its executive committee. During the same period he held executive and board responsibilities with Maple Leaf Mills Ltd. and Corporation Foods, Inc., and became chairman of the board of Louis Sherry, Inc., from 1976 to 1981.
His corporate responsibilities extended across insurance, finance, hospitality, shipping, industrial production, and banking. He was an executive-committee director of Investors Equity Life Insurance Company of Hawaii from 1970 to 1975, president and director of The Abbey at Lake Geneva from 1970 to 1975, and chairman and chief executive officer of National Investors Fire & Casualty Company from 1975 to 1977. He also served with Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd., Port Weller and St. Lawrence Dry Dock Ltd., The Pioneer, Midland National Bank, and Kinnard Body Works, where he was president and chairman of the board from 1970 to 1973.
Risi was president and director of Homosassa Springs from 1971 to 1978, president and director of Ivan Tors Films from 1971 to 1978, and president and director of Ivan Tors Studios in Miami from 1976 to 1980. Ivan Tors Productions was associated with television and underwater filmmaking, including productions such as Flipper, Gentle Ben, Daktari, and underwater work connected with Thunderball. Risi later served as president of Norris Grain Company from 1980 to 1982 and as chairman and chief executive officer of CTC Corporation from 1981 to 1983.
He also held leadership or board positions with Victory Industries, Red Wing Company, Oklawaha Farms, Assured Security Company, the Breckinridge Group, Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, Peter Bowden Drilling Ltd., Bankmgrs. Corporation, AfriAir Corporation, and Southeastern Airlines. His work included participation in grain negotiations with the Soviet Union and feedstuffs negotiations with China as a United States representative. He served on the advisory council of the American Stock Exchange, the Agricultural Processors Liaison Committee of the Federal Trade Commission, and the advisory board of the National Millers Association.
Risi's sports administration included executive vice-presidential service with the Fort Worth Red Wings Hockey Club from 1975 to 1978, the Detroit Red Wings Hockey Club from 1976 to 1982, and the Adirondack Red Wings Hockey Club from 1976 to 1982. He served on the National Hockey League Board of Governors from 1976 to 1982 and on the governing boards of the International Hockey League and American Hockey League. He was also a lieutenant commander in the United States Naval Reserve from 1959 to 1967.
Achievements
Risi developed a wide-ranging corporate career in which he led or directed enterprises in manufacturing, food processing, insurance, transportation, banking, agriculture, entertainment, and professional sports.
As a United States representative, Risi participated in grain negotiations with the Soviet Union and feedstuffs negotiations with China, extending his business activities into international agricultural trade.
Membership
Risi served as a trustee of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1938, Fairchild is a major tropical-botany garden and conservation institution whose collections and educational programs focus on tropical plants.
He was also a member of Ocean Reef Yacht Club, Santa Rosa Country Club, Riviera Country Club, Lake Toxaway Country Club, Coral Reef Yacht Club, Anabelle's Club, and St. James Club. These organizations represented the private social, recreational, and sporting networks associated with his business and community life.
Trustee.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
,
United States
Ocean Reef Yacht Club
,
United States
Santa Rosa Country Club
,
United States
Riviera Country Club
,
United States
Lake Toxaway Country Club
,
United States
Coral Reef Yacht Club
,
United States
Anabelle's Club
,
United Kingdom
St. James Club
,
United Kingdom
Personality
Risi was described by his family as devoted to his wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family. His later-life interests included walking through Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, aerobatic flying, fishing for northern pike in Canada, and golf.
Quotes from others about the person
His family remembered him as a devoted husband and father whose life combined business leadership, community service, and enduring family relationships.
Interests
Aerobatic flying and northern pike fishing in Canada.
Sport & Clubs
Golf and professional hockey.
Connections
Risi was the son of Louis J. Risi and Ann E. Risi. He had brothers Gene and Jim and a sister, Mary Kay.
He married Mary Jean Anson on January 15, 1958. They had three children, Steven, Janet, and Andrew, and later became grandparents and great-grandparents. Risi and Mary Jean maintained a long association with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, where family reunions, birthdays, and weddings were held.
Father:
Louis J.
Mother:
Ann E. Risi
Wife:
Mary Jean Anson
Son:
Steven Risi
Daughter:
Janet Risi
Son:
Andrew Risi
Brother:
Gene Risi
Brother:
Jim Risi
Sister:
Mary Kay Risi
References
Louis James Risi Obituary
Obituary documenting Risi's death, family, business career, community involvement, interests, and surviving relatives.
