Walter Gretzky: Difference between revisions
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'''Walter Gretzky''', [[Order of Ontario|O.Ont]], (born [[October 8]], [[1938]] in |
'''Walter Gretzky''', [[Order of Ontario|O.Ont]], (born [[October 8]], [[1938]] in Canning, [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]) is the father of former [[NHL]] player [[Wayne Gretzky]], part owner and coach of the [[Phoenix Coyotes]]. |
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The son of [[Belaruss|Belarussian]] and [[Poland|Polish]] immigrants, he played [[ice hockey]] for much of his youth, but never made it beyond juniors. He met his wife '''Phyllis''' Hockin ([[October 14]], [[1941]] in [[Paris, Ontario]]-[[December 19]], [[2005]]) at a [[wiener]] roast at the Gretzky farm when she was 15 and he was 18. She was related to [[British]] General [[Isaac Brock|Sir Isaac Brock]], a hero of the [[War of 1812]]. They married in [[1960]], and moved to [[Brantford, Ontario]]. Unlike Walter - who did [[Sharp_Corporation|Sharp]] ViewCam commericials with Wayne and Wayne's son, Ty - Phyllis mostly refused to embrace the celebrity that sprang from their son's exploits, although she did a commericial with Wayne for ProStars Cereal in the 1980's, and appeared in the video ''Wayne Gretzky: Above and Beyond'' ([[1990]]). |
The son of [[Belaruss|Belarussian]] and [[Poland|Polish]] immigrants, he played [[ice hockey]] for much of his youth, but never made it beyond juniors. He met his wife '''Phyllis''' Hockin ([[October 14]], [[1941]] in [[Paris, Ontario]] - [[December 19]], [[2005]]) at a [[wiener]] roast at the Gretzky farm when she was 15 and he was 18. She was related to [[British]] General [[Isaac Brock|Sir Isaac Brock]], a hero of the [[War of 1812]]. They married in [[1960]], and moved to [[Brantford, Ontario]]. Unlike Walter - who did [[Sharp_Corporation|Sharp]] ViewCam commericials with Wayne and Wayne's son, Ty - Phyllis mostly refused to embrace the celebrity that sprang from their son's exploits, although she did a commericial with Wayne for ProStars Cereal in the 1980's, and appeared in the video ''Wayne Gretzky: Above and Beyond'' ([[1990]]). |
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Walter was an installer and repairman for [[Bell Canada]] for 34 years, retiring in [[1991]]. A work-related injury he suffered in [[1961]] left him in a [[coma]], and resulted in deafness in his right ear. Five days after his 53rd birthday, he suffered a near-fatal [[brain aneurysm]] which destroyed his long-term memory. His physical therapist, Ian Kohler, married Kim in 1995. His ordeal is the basis of the [[CBC]] movie ''Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story''. He spends his time helping [[charities]] and [[Fundraising|fundraisers]] and coaching at his summer youth hockey camp in [[California]]. |
Walter was an installer and repairman for [[Bell Canada]] for 34 years, retiring in [[1991]]. A work-related injury he suffered in [[1961]] left him in a [[coma]], and resulted in deafness in his right ear. Five days after his 53rd birthday, he suffered a near-fatal [[brain aneurysm]] which destroyed his long-term memory. His physical therapist, Ian Kohler, married Kim in 1995. His ordeal is the basis of the [[CBC]] movie ''Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story''. He spends his time helping [[charities]] and [[Fundraising|fundraisers]] and coaching at his summer youth hockey camp in [[California]]. |
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Revision as of 01:19, 28 January 2006
Walter Gretzky, O.Ont, (born October 8, 1938 in Canning, Ontario, Canada) is the father of former NHL player Wayne Gretzky, part owner and coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
The son of Belarussian and Polish immigrants, he played ice hockey for much of his youth, but never made it beyond juniors. He met his wife Phyllis Hockin (October 14, 1941 in Paris, Ontario - December 19, 2005) at a wiener roast at the Gretzky farm when she was 15 and he was 18. She was related to British General Sir Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812. They married in 1960, and moved to Brantford, Ontario. Unlike Walter - who did Sharp ViewCam commericials with Wayne and Wayne's son, Ty - Phyllis mostly refused to embrace the celebrity that sprang from their son's exploits, although she did a commericial with Wayne for ProStars Cereal in the 1980's, and appeared in the video Wayne Gretzky: Above and Beyond (1990).
Walter was an installer and repairman for Bell Canada for 34 years, retiring in 1991. A work-related injury he suffered in 1961 left him in a coma, and resulted in deafness in his right ear. Five days after his 53rd birthday, he suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm which destroyed his long-term memory. His physical therapist, Ian Kohler, married Kim in 1995. His ordeal is the basis of the CBC movie Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story. He spends his time helping charities and fundraisers and coaching at his summer youth hockey camp in California.
Fans come to his house to see his basement, stuffed with momentos from Wayne's amateur career, and his backyard, which, every winter, was turned into a "rink" Walter taught his sons and their friends hockey on. The "rink" was replaced by a swimming pool on the day Wayne was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. His other children - Kim, Keith, Glen, and Brent - were also athletic. Brent, drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, played 13 NHL games. Keith, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1985, never made it to the NHL, but has coached in the minors (he was Brent's coach when both were with the UHL Asheville Smoke. Kim was an exceptional track and field star.
He has written two books: On Family, Hockey and Healing (2003), and Gretzky: From Backyard Rink to the Stanley Cup (1985), in which he recounted how he recognized Wayne's prodigious skills and shaped him into the most prolific scorer in hockey history. In an unusally frank 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Wayne recounted how Walter pushed him, building him up one minute and tearing him down the next, reminding him constantly that he could never have an "average" game. Not surprisingly, Wayne reportedly has tried to get his own three sons involved in sports other than hockey.
Phyllis died of lung cancer at Brantford General Hospital. Her mother, Betty Hockin, died in Brantford on January 7, 2006 from complications from a heart attack.