Walter Gretzky

Walter Gretzky

CM OOnt
Walter Gretzky in 2010
Born(1938-10-08)October 8, 1938
Canning, Ontario, Canada
DiedMarch 4, 2021(2021-03-04) (aged 82)
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other names"Canada's hockey dad"
OccupationCable repairman
Spouse
Phyllis Hockin
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2019)​
Children5, including Wayne, Keith and Brent

Walter Gretzky, CM, OOnt (October 8, 1938 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian ice hockey executive. He was best known as the father of Canadian ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky.[1]

Walter was an installer and repairman for Bell Canada for 34 years, retiring in 1991. A work-related injury in 1961 put him in a coma and deafened his right ear.[2]

He helped charities and fundraisers and coached at his summer youth hockey camp in California.

Walter had worked for the CNIB Foundation (formerly the Canadian National Institute for the Blind).[3]

Gretzky died on March 4, 2021 in Brantford, Ontario from problems caused by a fractured hip at the age of 82.[4] He had Parkinson's disease at the time of his death.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Wayne Gretzky Profile www.famoussportspeople.com/wayne-gretzky Archived May 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Walter Gretzky, Canada's hockey dad - CBC Archives". Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  3. ↑ "Remembering Walter Gretzky". CNIB. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  4. ↑ "Walter Gretzky, Canada's greatest hockey dad, dead at 82". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ↑ Stubbs, Dave (March 4, 2021). "Walter Gretzky dies at 82, father of Wayne Gretzky". NHL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2021.