23 Facts About Walter Gretzky

The Walter Gretzky family were landowners in the multinational Russian Empire, and supporters of Tsar Nicholas II, originally from Grodno.

Walter Gretzky's ancestry is typically described as either Belarusian, Ukrainian, or Polish.

Tony and Mary owned a 25-acre cucumber farm in Canning, Ontario, where Walter Gretzky was born and raised.

Walter Gretzky may have been a descendant of British General Sir Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812.

Walter Gretzky preferred hockey, and in his teens was a prolific goal-scorer during five years of play with the Junior B-level Woodstock Warriors.

Walter Gretzky set his sights on the National Hockey League, and some thought he was destined to make it there.

Walter Gretzky tried out for the Junior A level Toronto Marlboros, a few weeks after catching chicken pox and losing considerable weight.

Walter Gretzky was an installer and repairman for Bell Canada for 34 years, retiring in 1991.

Walter Gretzky's ordeal is the basis of the CBC movie Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story.

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

Walter Gretzky devised numerous creative ways to develop hockey skills, which were often ahead of their time in Canada.

From September 2004 to April 2005, Walter Gretzky was an assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh inline hockey team.

Walter Gretzky had worked for the CNIB Foundation.

The entire Walter Gretzky family is associated with the CNIB.

Walter Gretzky felt a sense of compassion and persuaded his father to set up a golf tournament to raise cash for the CNIB.

At the first tournament, Walter Gretzky had enough money raised to award three scholarships, which increased to 15 scholarships a year.

Walter Gretzky wrote two books: On Family, Hockey and Healing, and Walter Gretzky: From Backyard Rink to the Stanley Cup, in which he recounted how he recognized Wayne's prodigious skills and shaped him into the most prolific scorer in hockey history.

Walter Gretzky was awarded the "Brantford Citizen of the Year award" in 1996.

Walter Gretzky was an inductee to the Brantford Walk of Fame.

Walter Gretzky was named a Member of the Order of Canada on December 28,2007, "for his contributions to minor hockey in Canada and for his dedication to helping a myriad of local, provincial, and national charities".

On February 12,2010, Walter Gretzky carried the Olympic Torch during the Olympic Relay on the last day of the relay, hours before the opening ceremonies in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Wayne later lit the Olympic Flame.

Walter Gretzky was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2012 and died on March 4,2021, after suffering a hip injury three weeks prior, at the age of 82.

Walter Gretzky was buried at Farringdon Burial Ground in Brantford.