Walter Gretzky

Walter Gretzky
Walter Gretzky in 2010.
Born	(1938-10-08) October 8, 1938 (age 78) Canning, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Brantford
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	telephone technician
Spouse(s)	Phyllis Leone Hockin (October 14, 1960 – December 19, 2005)
Children	Wayne, Kim, Keith, Glen, Brent

Walter Gretzky, CM, O.Ont (born October 8, 1938) is a Canadian who is best known as the father of ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. The elder Gretzky, an avid hockey player as a youth and a keen analyst of the game, is credited by his famous son as playing a key role in his phenomenal success as a player. Walter coached his hockey-loving son continuously, starting at age three, building him a backyard rink, devising creative exercises and drills, teaching him profound insights into how to play successfully, and accompanying him to most of his games. He is famous for instructing Wayne and his brothers to “Go to where the puck is going, not where it has been."

The elder Gretzky is well known in his own right for his contributions to minor hockey in Canada, and for his dedication to helping many local, provincial, and national charities, for which he has been honoured and recognized.

The Gretzky family were landowners in the Russian Empire, and supporters of Tsar Nicholas II originally from Grodno (now in the Republic of Belarus). Prior to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, Gretzky's father Anton ("Tony") Gretzky (Ukrainian: Антон Грецький; pronounced Hretskyy), a white émigré, immigrated along with his family to Canada via the United States from Ukraine. Following World War I, Anton, who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, would marry his wife, Mary, who immigrated from Pidhaitsi, interwar Poland (now Ukraine).

Gretzky's ancestry is typically described as either Belarusian, Ukrainian, or Polish. In interviews, Walter Gretzky has stated that his parents were "White Russians from Belarus", and whenever anyone asked his father if they were Russian, he would reply, "Nyet. Belarus." On other occasions he has mentioned his family's Polish ancestry. However, "the only Slavic language spoken in the Gretzky family [was] Ukrainian," of which Walter was a fluent speaker from birth.