It's with deep sadness that Janet and I share the news
of the passing of my Dad. He bravely battled
Parkinson's and other health issues these last few
years, but he never let it get him down.
For my sister and my 3 brothers, Dad was
our team captain - he guided, protected and led our
family every day, every step of the way.
For me, he was the reason I fell in love
with the game of hockey. He inspired me to be the best
I could be not just in the game of hockey, but in
life.
We will miss him so much, but know that
he's back with our Mom and that brings me and my
family peace.
He really was the Great One and the
prodest Canadian we know.
We love you Dad.
Wayne Gretzky
https://www.facebook.com/gretzkydotcom/photos/pcb.10157951057057966/10157951056872966
Walter Gretzky,
father of The Great One, dies at 82
Walter Gretzky, the ultimate Canadian hockey dad who taught
and nurtured The Great One, has died. He was 82.
The father of Wayne Gretzky became a name himself, a
constant in Wayne's world. As Wayne's star ascended, Walter
remained a blue-collar symbol of a devoted hockey parent in
a country filled with them.
Wayne Gretzky confirmed his father's death on Thursday night
with a social media post.
The two were also often intertwined, their father-son story
used in commercials from Tim Hortons to Coca-Cola. And
following in the footsteps of Alexander Graham Bell, they
made Brantford, Ont., famous.
Walter was celebrated for far more than just fathering a
superstar, however. His down-to-earth, no-airs approach to
life and devotion to his family struck a chord with
Canadians.
Walter's celebrity status increased after making a
remarkable recovery from a stroke suffered in 1991. His
autobiography and a 2005 made-for-TV movie told the story.
Walter Gretzky was the son of immigrants — a Polish mother
and Russian father — who started a vegetable farm in 1932 in
Canning, Ont., just outside Brantford, on the Nith River,
where Wayne learned to skate when he was two. They bought it
for $600.
Walter's father Tony, whose parents had emigrated to the
U.S., came to Canada from Chicago to enlist during the First
World War with his name switching to Gretzky from Gretsky
because he did not know how to write in English. Walter's
mother Mary came to Canada by herself in 1921 as an
18-year-old.
Walter's parents met in Toronto in the 1930s. He was the
fifth of seven children.
He played minor hockey in Paris, Ont., then junior B for
four years in Woodstock. He went on to play some senior
hockey but said he wasn't good enough to play pro.
Walter met Phyllis, his wife to be, at a wiener roast at the
family farm. She was 15 at the time. Three years later, they
got married.
Wayne was the first born in 1961, followed by Kim, Keith,
Glen and Brent. Keith and Brent also played professional
hockey.
The same year as Wayne was born, Walter fractured his skull
in a work accident as a Bell lineman. He spent some time in
a coma and was off work for 18 months. Left deaf in his
right ear, he was eventually transferred to another Bell
department and became an installer/repairman.
The winter when Wayne was four, his father turned the
backyard of their Brantford home into a rink which young
Wayne called The Wally Coliseum. From the time he was a tot,
Wayne wanted to do nothing but play hockey.
Walter decided to make his own rink to avoid having to
freeze standing outdoors at some outdoor rink elsewhere — or
sit in his car with the engine running to get some heat —
while Wayne skated. Gas was too expensive, he said.
``It truly, truly was self-preservation,'' he explained.
Walter fed his eldest child's obsession, recruiting bigger
kids for Wayne to practise against in the backyard rink, and
finding him a spot on a team of 10-year-olds when he was
six.
Read all:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/walter-gretzky-father-nhl-legend-wayne-gretzky-dies-82
Walter
Gretzky Honoured with the Gold Polish Combatants’ Cross
The WWII Polish Combatants’ Association’s national
conference was hosted by the local Combatant’s Br#4 at the
Polish Hall on Pearl St. over the August 2nd weekend. This
three-day conference drew people from across Canada, Poland,
United States and England.
The PCA was conceived in 1946 and it’s the first time in 73
years that Brantford has been chosen to host it. We were
also honoured to have WWII veterans and survivors present at
the conference, including many VIP’s.
Last year the Polish community celebrated the 100th
anniversary of Polish freedom in 1918, post WWI. This year
on September 1st, will mark 80 years since Nazi Germany
attacked Poland, followed two weeks later by Communist
Russia.
Canada, at the outbreak of WWI, came to Poland’s defense
immediately. Due to this and many other reasons, both Canada
and Poland have shared a unique and connected relationship
for many years.
We felt that this conference was an appropriate time to
acknowledge Walter Gretzky’s Polish lineage and his ongoing
support and contribution to veterans of all nations.
Introductory speech prior to
Walter receiving the medal includes more details as
to why he qualified for this high Polish honour.
Dear veterans and survivors, our
distinguished VIP’s as well as our valued community
guests here today.
I’ve known Walter well for over 40 years
so what I’m about to say is based on first-hand
knowledge. To summarize anything about this man in
under 2 minutes, let alone in under 2 hours is
impossible.
Outside the media and public events
Walter has had 1000’s of private engagements with
people and to this day, at the age of 80, he is like
the ‘energizer bunny’ and simply won’t stop.
Walter is a ‘human-doing’ not just a
‘human-being’ influencing millions worldwide as well,
he is a humanitarian of the highest degree.
Walter is an author, has honorary
doctorates, received hundreds of awards including 3
medals, 2 of which are the Order of Canada and the
Order of Ontario. He is our Lord Mayor.
World War One
In 1914 Canadians as
well as First Nations/Metis men and women volunteered
joining the Canadian expeditionary forces who were
eventually shipped to Europe in order to fight the
Germans.
In 1917 an additional 30,000 soldiers, of
Polish descent, trained in Niagara on the Lake and
were also sent to Europe. They were called Haller’s
Blue Army. Captain A.G.E. Smith of the Grand River Six
Nations Territory, was one of the officers who helped
train the Polish soldiers at NOTL and he went to
Europe with them.
In 1917 Antony Gretzky left Chicago
joined the Canadian Army in Toronto. He too ended up
overseas fighting in the trenches until the war’s end.
It is with my imagination that I could see Antony
Gretzky fighting alongside Canadians and Haller’s Blue
Army contributing to Polish Independence after the war
in 1918.
After the war Antony decided to remain in
Canada. He acquired land in Canning Ontario and to
this day this farm has remained in the Gretzky family.
Antony, who was a very wise man, met a
beautiful Polish lady named Pauline Maria Khodenessky,
whom he married.
Walter’s father was a dedicated veteran
and Canadian. Walter clearly remembers his father,
though terminally ill and unable to walk, demanding to
attend a Remembrance Day ceremony in 1973. It was his
last.
For the first time ever, Walter is
wearing his fathers’ WWI medals today. Walter, like
his father, is a staunch supporter of Remembrance Day.
Read all very long but interesting story of the Gretzky
family and their Polish roots:
https://www.bscene.ca/walter-gretzky-honoured-with-the-gold-polish-combatants-cross
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Piątek, 5 marca 2021
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