After stroke, hockey legend’s father made amazing recovery
TORONTO — Walter Gretzky, the father of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, has died. He was 82.
Wayne Gretzky said in a social media post Thursday night that his father battled Parkinson’s disease and other health issues the past few years.
“For me, he was the reason I fell in love with the game of hockey,’’ Wayne Gretzky said. ‘‘He inspired me to be the best I could be not just in the game of hockey, but in life.”
As Wayne Gretzky’s star ascended, Walter became a name himself — a blue-collar symbol of a devoted hockey parent in a country filled with them. The two were often intertwined, their father-son story used in commercials from Tim Hortons to Coca-Cola.
Walter’s celebrity status increased after making a remarkable recovery from a stroke suffered in 1991.
In his youth, Walter played hockey, but wasn’t good enough to become a pro.
Walter met Phyllis, his wife to be, at a wiener roast at his family’s farm. Wayne was the first born in 1961, followed by Kim, Keith, Glen and Brent.
The same year that Wayne was born, Walter fractured his skull in a work accident as a Bell lineman. He spent some time in a coma and was left deaf in his right ear.
Walter was 53 when he suffered his stroke, just a few months into retirement. He wasn’t expected to live through the night. But he did, though he lost much of his memory and it took time to get snippets of it back.
He’d been a chain-smoker before the stroke. He gave that up, while devoting more of his time to worthwhile causes.
“I really don’t like to sit still for too long,” he said. “I’m most comfortable when I’m active.”