Greg Gerber founded Life Story School in the fall of 2024. A passionate storyteller and former journalist, Greg has interviewed thousands of people during his career.

For several years, his Forward From 50 platform has been sharing stories about people over the age of 50 who have found new purpose for their lives.

Those men and women are using their natural talents, learned skills and unique life experiences to help others. Their experiences took their lives in completely different directions, giving them more meaning and purpose.

Through those interviews, Greg realized everyone has a unique story. But, they may not know the best way to capture it.

Greg decided to put four decades of journalism experience to work helping people capture their life stories in order to pass on their legacies to others. Capturing family moments and memories is very important to him.

Greg Gerber with his father, Joe, in June 1978.

Greg’s parents were divorced when he was 8 years old. His father, Joe, died a few months after Greg’s 19th birthday. Growing up, Greg saw his dad about six weekends a year, plus a week or two in summer.

Between visits, they would exchange letters and even cassette tapes after that technology became available. Fortunately, Greg kept every one. Yet, he never really knew his father as a person.

During the memorial service, literally hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects to a man Greg barely knew.

Later in life, Greg periodically read the letters he had received from his dad. Most of them were updates on activities in which his father had been involved, as well as news about his extended family and step-family.

Over the years, Greg realized what a wasted opportunity those letters were for his father to convey important life lessons and advice to his son, who was just entering adulthood.

Greg often wondered what his father would have told him, had he known he would die of a sudden heart attack at age 46, just three weeks after their final correspondence.

Virginia Gerber with her dog, Frosty, in 2002

Greg’s mother, Virginia, died in 2023 at the age of 89. Her life was filled with struggle, but she often kept the burden of those challenges from her family.

Opinionated about matters of the world, she rarely talked about herself. Even worse, she was so self-conscious about her appearance that she did not like having her photo taken.

As she got older, his mother relented and agreed to be in more photos, but there are eras of her life where very few pictures exist.

She was also the primary resource for information about early events in Greg’s life and that of his sister, well as their extended family. For years, Greg begged his mother to allow him to interview her about key moments of her life.

Sadly, she was convinced her life was not exciting at all, and nobody would be interested in what she had to say. After she died, Greg found a partially-written life story on her computer hard drive.

While better than nothing, the document contained a partial historical record of her family and key moments of her early life. 

Unfortunately, it provided no additional insight into her thoughts, dreams and worldview. Now that valuable, unique history has been lost to the ages.

Elizabeth “Betty” Ohnstad with her granddaughter, Kristin, in 1995. Kristin is the grandchild who made grandma “great.”

Greg’s maternal grandmother, Betty, died five weeks before her 99th birthday. She lived a quiet, simple life, but left a big impact on others.

An avid quilter, she had made dozens of quilts for others during her life. In fact, many of them draped the pews during her funeral.

As a teen, Betty lived in a very remote part of Alberta, Canada. Her life resembled pioneer settlers of the day.

When she was a young adult, she had a nervous breakdown and was told by her doctor she needed a hobby to calm her nerves. That advice prompted Betty to take up gardening.

Greg learned those stories, and dozens more, because she allowed him to interview her regarding her life story. The hours of recordings with her telling her story, in her own words, are a valuable memento of her life.

Greg Gerber on his first birthday in 1961.

1. Greg was born in Madison, Wis., but spent the first three years of his life in Menomonie while his father was completing a degree in industrial arts at the University of Wisconsin – Stout.
2. Greg speaks fluent female. As a child, he lived with his mom and sister. When his dad remarried, he inheirited three stepsisters. Between 7th and 12th grade, the neighborhood Greg grew up in had 13 girls. Greg and his wife had three daughters and, technically, four granddaughters before the first boy arrived.
3. He almost drowned while inner-tubing as a 11-year-old, when the creek behind his house was at flood stage and he encountered unexpected rapids.
4. That same year, he started a giant field on fire when he used plastic pens, bobby pins and stick matches to create stink bombs.
5. In his 60s, Greg discovered he likes sushi, and his favorite Asian food is Thai curry.
6. Greg is an avid movie buff with more than 400 DVDs. He still enjoys watching several movies a month with his friends.
7. At 16, Greg was the first-ever male customer service representative working at McDonald’s in Monona, Wis., where he gave tours and hosted birthday parties.
8. When he was 17, because he worked so many opening and closing shifts, Greg had his own key to that restaurant.
9. Despite his father being a driver’s education instructor, Greg received four speeding tickets the first summer he had his license.
10. Because his parents had been divorced, Greg had three Big Brothers. In 1980, he was the first Little Brother in the history of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County to become a Big Brother himself.
11. Greg qualified as an Eagle Scout within weeks of his 18th birthday. His service project involved surveying Madison residents about government needs.
12. His first solo vacation as an adult involved taking the Amtrak Empire Builder from Wisconsin to Seattle. He fell in love with the Puget Sound.
13. For his first career, Greg wanted to be a police officer, so he got a degree and paid his own way through the police academy. At one point, he ranked No. 1 on the Wisconsin state police exam.
14. It was a short-lived career, lasting less than two years. During that time, Greg worked as a bicycle officer in Madison where he pedaled nearly 100 miles a day.
15. Because Greg had several letters to the editor published in his local newspaper as a teenager, he opted to become a journalist himself.
16. His first real job in journalism was editing the Holloman Air Force Base Sunburst newspaper. In 1986, it was recognized as the second best newspaper in the Tactical Air Command.
17. While in the Air Force, Greg started his first business, Ideal Images Photography. He took pictures at proms, weddings and college sorority parties. In 1988, a year after leaving the military, Greg was recognized by Candid Color Systems as the fastest growing event photographer in America.
18. Greg’s brush with fame took place in 2004 when he shook hands with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the rotunda of the U.S. capitol. Greg was touring the capitol when Mr. Mulroney was moving from the House to the Senate for speeches.
19. While working as a journalist covering the RV industry, Greg traveled in a motorhome full-time for three yeras while he interviewed business owners.
20. In fact, Greg has been to every state except Hawaii. He is waiting to visit that state someday with someone special.