Hello, to all my esteemed classmates and teachers.
Scrape? Scrape? Scrape? No? That's not the sound of a lead pencil going up and down a metal chair of my MOM scraping wallpaper off the walls? It's the sound of Walter Gretzky shoveling his outdoor rink on a COLD COLD frosty winter night.
Today, I'm going to talk to you about the father of the "Great One", WALTER GRETZKY. An ordinary man from humble beginnings and against the odds of a devastating illness, has led and still leading an extraordinary life.
Walter Gretzky was born on October 8,1938 in a small town called Canning, Ontario. When Walter was young he lived on a farm with six brothers and sisters. Once, when Walter and his brother Albert were teenagers they went into the woods with a gun to shoot a rabbit, Albert accidentally took a shot and narrowly missed Walter by centimeters. SSSSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWWWW?????? Albert hasn't touched a gun since.
Walter played hockey every winter and by his early teens was regarded as a very skillful player. Walter played five years of Junior B with Woodstock"
In 1960 he married Phyllis and they had five kids, first Wayne then a daughter Kim and then sons Keith and Glen. Now, here's a story about their last child and it goes like this .........Walter's wife Phyllis was just about to have their fifth child in a couple of days and their son Wayne had a Hockey Tournament too. So, Walter and Wayne went to the tournament. When they got back Walter's wife was in the hospital giving birth to their Baby Boy Brent. The very first thing Walter said to his wife was "WE WON, WE WON". And she said "Walter we have a son" ......another budding Hockey Player.
Walter worked for Bell Canada for 34 years. During his early years with Bell he suffered a life threatening head injury that left him permanently deaf in his right ear. When Wayne Gretzky was in the NHl. Walter had not time to coach and found himself in the limelight of becoming hockey's best-known "Dad". Walter was now not only the best-known dad but the most loved hockey dad as well.
In 1991, Walter suffered a brain aneursym which destroyed a good deal of memory and almost his life. With great support from family and a therapist who wouldn't quit, Walter bravely overcame the limitations that an aneursym can leave a person with.
Today, even with short-term memory difficulties, Walter pursues life with spirit and passion. He spends a good deal of time speaking all over North America.
In January 1999, a new Tournament for House League Players was initiated in Brantford and named in Walter's honor. My hockey team was lucky enough to participate in this tournament in January 2003. We won the Walter Gretzky Tournament Championship. I met Walter personally and he presented me and my team with a gold medal and shook my hand and said "Great Job, keep up the good work". It was such an honor to be in the moment with Walter Gretzky. Walter signed my hockey stick which is hanging on my wall today.
Did you know in 2001 Walter Gretzky was the national spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
WOW, I'm exhausted telling you about all the wonderful things this man has done and is still doing. I hope you have enjoyed my speech on the most famous hockey Dad in the world and I thank you for your attention.
