J. Blake LeBlanc

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Joseph Blake LeBlanc on July 1st, 2026. Blake had been around the world but was proud to have been raised in Port Dalhousie, ON as the first son of Joan Moorhouse and Joe LeBlanc. Predeceased by his parents, brother Randy LeBlanc, nephew Jeff Mackay, and grandcat niko; he leaves behind his daughter Lindsay LeBlanc, his sister Jody (Daniel) Mackay, his uncle Ross Moorhouse, a handful of beloved cousins and his nephews Joseph Tyler LeBlanc and Stuart Mackay.

Blake fluttered away on the vibe of a guitar string on Canada Day morning while Peaceful Easy Feeling was playing, transporting him back to a favourite era in time. An incredible song lyricist and composer himself, his musical creativity drew from his mother, Joan, a pianist and adjudicator who taught piano out of their home on Robert St. The immense pride Blake carried throughout his life to have grown up in Port Dalhousie spoke to the character of the place that shaped him. His father, Joe, was the captain of the Rowing Club for many years and raised him with a strong connection to the culture and spirit of the sport on and around Henley Island.

Blake was a self-described “all-star”; taking gold rowing medals at Schoolboy, losing teeth in hockey, earning his brown belt in karate, and proudly playing football for Lakeport High. A longtime lover of sports bars and live sports, it was a thorough disappointment - but to be expected - that the Buffalo Bills never won a Superbowl in Blake’s Lifetime.

In the 70s he was a lifeguard at Lakeside Park and Prudommes Pool, which was right around a time where he described himself as having been “the first to discover girls out of all the Portboys he hung out with.” He drove a baby blue mini cooper and took on other high school jobs, one time as a dog catcher and another as a Chinese food delivery boy. Woodstock took place on Blake’s 16th Birthday and it’s no wonder that he was completely swept up in the movement of his generation through its music. Songs by CSNY, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, Clapton and Petty in particular fed his soul. Growing up, he played in bands with his best friend Rhys Jenkins, covering songs of great meaning to them like Ohio, Teach Your Children and Find the Cost of Freedom. He also sang and played several of his originals.

In intellectual pursuit, Blake attended Trent and Brock Universities, earning a degree in Philosophy before going on to study Law at Osgoode Hall. His law career began in the early 80s, and while articling downtown St. Catharines at the law firm Chown Cairns, he stepped into the great wide open and took a chance to develop the game Trivial Pursuit internationally. This bold move brought Blake to Barbados with his first wife Linda (Kretz) and their newborn daughter. The Caribbean became his home base, where he loved spending time in between face-to-face meetings with writers and game licensees around the world.

Over the next decade he managed to set up over 1000 trademarks for the game in different editions and establish it in a total of 41 countries. Visits to Japan, India, South Africa and Great Britain were later recalled as some of the most memorable places he checked out - although he always maintained that his favourite city was Paris. He even got to see the Southern Cross while on a beach in Tahiti and loved to tell about looking up at the constellation while the song played on his walkman.

A global sensation that became a connector of people, Trivial Pursuit's popularity and his accomplishment of developing it worldwide gave him insight into the possibilities of life that most could not even fathom. Never one to get a question wrong - he was respected by the famous people and musicians he met along his journey, notably his greatest hero Steven Stills.

Blake had a magnetism that was rooted in his handsomeness, his intellectual creativity, clever wit and effortless sense of cool. Throughout his life he remained a free thinker with a loving energy and generosity that extended to many of those around him. Knowing the effort he’d put into saving for his first guitar, he thoroughly enjoyed helping out younger creatives and musicians once he had “a few bucks.” Blake helped support successful bands in LA, Wisconsin, Ohio and Arizona.

He and his second wife, Lori (Sciamonte) lived up his retirement in the Cayman Islands, where Blake bought the West Bay Polo Club; a sports bar and cultural staple on the island during the 90s. It was a place where he loved to host friends after a game of golf and dream up other cool projects, such as those he produced in music and tv.

A firm believer in education, he was proud to have sent his daughter to Ridley College and USC, where the Trojans dominated college football during her time there. He loved to visit LA and enjoyed taking her and her friends out for a nice meal - never questioning her need for spending money to attend music festivals like Coachella or Bonnaroo. As a father, Blake taught lifelong friendship as one’s greatest asset and loved to reflect on how he and his best friend had been at each other’s 4th Birthday parties.

In his last chapter, Blake came back to the Niagara region where he became known and loved by many at his ‘elder village.’ Having lost the use of his right side as the result of a stroke left him with a longing to play guitar, but he remained remarkably independent and positive in spirit. He was appreciated for his genuine sense of connection with others, marked by that spark in his eye and sneaky half smile when he was just about to make you laugh… He will be missed by his daughter and family members, his close friends, his business partners and associates around the world, the Portboys and Portgirls who he fondly spoke of, and all those he cared about and inspired throughout his life. As Steven Stills sings; “And living in sorrow must do for the others.”

Please share your memories and join us this summer on Henley Island for his Celebration of Life on Saturday, August 15th from 12-4.