People are being asked to remember the city’s greatest cheerleader and the world’s most famous hockey dad on what would have been his 83rd birthday. Walter was born Oct. 8, 1938 in Canning, Ont. where his parents owned a cucumber farm. He and his wife, Phyllis, moved into a house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford in 1961, seven months after the birth of their son, Wayne.
It was there, on the now-famous backyard ice rink, that Walter helped Wayne hone the skills that would make him one of hockey’s greatest players. But it’s Walter’s tireless promotion of the city, his willingness show up at countless charity events, his support for youth hockey and eagerness to endlessly sign autographs for children in cold arenas, and his ability for cheerfully striking up a conversation with anyone. Gretzky was named the city’s first and only lord mayor in 2007. Walter Gretzky Elementary School opened in 2012 on Blackburn Drive
He liked to call Brantford the “centre of the universe”. Each year, Oct. 8 will be recognized as Walter Gretzky Day in Brantford……Ed
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