One of Waterloo’s most passionate sports fans has died at the age of 75.
Greg Walton, who was a fixture in the crowd at Waterloo Siskins games for decades, passed away last week. According to his obituary, his death had not been expected.
In addition to the Siskins, Walton was an avid supporter of the varsity teams at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.
“Greg made himself available to a lot of different teams over the years, and was always a pleasant fellow to be around – very kind, very genuine, and I know he loved hockey,” Greg Puhalski, the coach of Laurier’s men’s hockey team, said in an interview.
Walton’s impact wasn’t only felt at game time. He regularly talked up graduating members of the Siskins as potential recruits for Laurier, and even went into the locker room to give the Golden Hawks a pre-game talk.
“He always wanted to give our players a little bit of a rah-rah speech before they left to go out on the ice,” Puhalski said.
“I know the guys really enjoyed when he did that.”
Visitation for Walton takes place Tuesday and Wednesday at Erb and Good Funeral Home, with a funeral on Thursday at St. Louis Roman Catholic Church.
