  Last night I got a call from my wife who works at our local sports bar. "You'll never believe who I'm serving! " "Who? " "Wayne Gretzky's Dad! " Yup, The Great One's Dad, Walter Gretzky was in our little city last night being served by my wife, and had a line-up of bar patrons waiting for an autograph. My wife managed to get three personalized autographs (one for each of us and one for her Grandpa).
Pretty damn cool. It turns out he's in town as a part of a charity event for Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation. I've never known much about Walter Gretzky, but it turns out he's been through quite alot: About ten years ago, Walter made a miraculous recovery from a stroke that came close to killing him. Through his own grit and determination, and with the help of dedicated therapists, doctors, family and friends, he battled back from an aneurysm that left him with many cognitive difficulties and destroyed a decade of memories-including his recollection of the death of his mother and almost all of Wayne’s NHL triumphs of the eighties. Today he dedicates himself to helping people understand what it is like to live in the aftermath of this catastrophic illness. My wife said he was extremely friendly and came well prepared for signing autographs for all the patrons.
He chatted with many of them about his life and even wrote a message to one waitress' father who is in hospital battling from a sever heart attack. Sitting underneath a statue of his son, it must have been quite a sight to see. We don't get too many famous sightings here in Northern Alberta, and although this man may only be the father of one of the greatest hockey stars of our time. He was definately looked upon as a hero by this group of bar patrons last night. Walter Gretzky Info Sources: urlLink Heart and Stroke Foundation urlLink Prospeakers.com 
