Walter Gretzky was everyone's favourite hockey dad

My first interaction with Walter Gretzky was, appropriately enough, a great one.

A second visit with a national treasure, who died Thursday at age 82 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease and other health issues, was also something to cherish.

It was simply impossible to meet a nicer man — someone who also happened to be the suitably proud father of No. 99, Wayne Gretzky.

Walter Gretzky could have lived anywhere, considering the affluence and influence of his famous son.

Yet, Mr. Gretzky was happiest in the family's modest home on Varadi Avenue in Brantford, Ont.

“A few years ago, Wayne bought a lot outside of Brantford,” Walter told me on Oct. 20, 1997, over lunch at the Hotel Saskatchewan. “He was going to build us a home as a present.

“I found out about it and told Wayne, `That's nice, but I'm not moving.' It may not be the fanciest place, but it's my home.”

Walter was also at home among people, as was the case during a 2000 visit to Gravelbourg.

During both of the aforementioned to Saskatchewan, he had a seemingly infinite amount of time for everyone. I can't imagine how he ever made it back to the airport for the final leg of either excursion, because he was happiest while holding court with strangers who quickly became friends.

Some people who flocked to Walter asked — aggressively in some cases, sheepishly in others — if it would be possible to get Wayne's autograph.

The requests, on the surface, were outlandish or illogical. But what did Walter do?

He patiently took down the name and mailing address of everyone who sought Wayne's signature.

Upon returning to Brantford, Papa Gretzky would accommodate all the requests, accessing a mountainous pile of photos that Wayne had pre-signed.

Walter, in his own way, left his signature.

He was the antithesis of the pushy hockey parent. Sure, he designed the famous backyard rink on which Wayne honed his unmatchable skills, but the emphasis was always on the love of the game.

“The only place we fall down as parents — and, sometimes, coaches — is that the game has to be fun,” Mr. Gretzky said on April 30, 2000.

“I don't mean that the kids should fool around, but it has to be fun.

“Whenever I go into a dressing room and speak to players, I say: `Make sure you always, always, ALWAYS try your hardest whether it's a practice or a game — and make sure you're always having fun.”

In that spirit, the smile seldom left Walter's face — not even after he suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 1991.

He pulled through, but a period of about 20 years, beginning in the early 1970s and continuing through Wayne's peak years in the NHL, was expunged from the memory bank.

“When you get a second chance at life — I wasn't supposed to make it through the night — you realize that life is such a precious thing,” Walter said in 1997.

“People take so many things for granted. It's so nice to be here talking with you and having a nice meal. It's nice to get up in the morning.”

That was especially true when you knew that the day's agenda included time spent with the wonderful Walter Gretzky.