Locals react to the passing of a Calgary legend
Posted Jun 22, 2011 10:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Harley Hotchkiss, one of the original six owners who brought the Flames to Calgary, has died.
He was 83.
The President and CEO of the Calgary Flames Ken King says the entire organization is saddened by the passing of Harley Hotchkiss.
King tells 660News Hotchkiss went out of his way to avoid the limelight, but he defiantly had an impact on all the lives he touched both on and off the ice.
“Everything he did, hockey, philanthropy, family, everything he touched he touched with decency and dignity and he’s a roll model for all of us,” says King.
The voice of the Flames on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 960 Peter Maher says Hotchkiss was more of a fan than an owner and was also instrumental in ending the NHL lockout back in 04 / 05.
His memoir “Hat Trick” was published in 2009, and the book’s author Paul Grescoe tells 660News, Harley loved Calgary, and appreciated every opportunity this city presented him.
Grescoe says Hotchkiss was a man who put family and community first, and not loud like some of the oil barons in the city, he had a quiet and behind the scenes approach but always got things done.
Sad and unfortunate is how the Director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute is reacting to the death of Harley Hotchkiss.
Dr. Samuel Weiss tells 660News, Harley was like a second father to him.
“All I can say is that from my perspective I’m better for having spent a good chunk of the last eight years working very closely with Harley and I feel blessed for having had that time,” says Weiss.
Dr. Weiss says every time they help somebody at the Brain Institute, the Hotchkiss legacy will live on.
