Roger B. Blake was born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, on March 13, 1939, to Roy and Margaret Blake. He passed away peacefully in Victoria, BC, on August 7, 2026, two days after celebrating his 59th wedding anniversary with his beloved wife, Leena.
Roger came to Canada with his family in September 1939 on the last boat to leave the UK before the outbreak of war. The family settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1946, they returned to the UK when his father was posted to the Canadian High Commission as Agriculture Attaché. Further moves followed—to Melbourne, Australia in 1950, and later to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where Roger lived until 1957.
Roger attended the Royal Military College, where he played soccer and football, captained the swim and water polo teams, and earned the Prince of Wales Trophy for best all-round athlete over four years. He graduated with a Diploma in Electrical Engineering and later completed his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta.
He served three years in the RCAF as an Armament Officer with postings in Bagotville, PQ, and Val d’Or before joining the Trade Commissioner Service in 1965. His first posting was in Los Angeles, where he met and married Leena. Together they lived around the world during postings to Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Perth, and Sydney. After a leave of absence, Roger was appointed Vice President of Canadair. Upon retirement, he and Leena returned to Perth, Western Australia.
In Perth, Roger became the personal assistant to the Vice Chancellor of Murdoch University, served as Chairman of two companies, and sat on the boards of five others. He and Leena launched a bakery franchise, establishing 17 stores in 17 months. Roger also taught English to immigrants for more than 15 years and served on the Autism Board in Perth. A lifelong learner, he was a proud member of Mensa. In 2017, he returned to Canada to be closer to five of his seven grandchildren living in the United States.
Roger fulfilled one of his greatest ambitions—to lead a diverse and meaningful career. He served in the military, taught English, held senior government roles, led in the private sector, and became a successful entrepreneur. He was an avid golfer and a member of Royal Colwood Golf Club.
Roger is survived by his devoted wife, Leena, his three children Andrew, Robbie, and Tanja, his seven cherished grandchildren Blake, Toby, Tayla, Larry, Marcus, Addison and Cameron, and his brother Ian.
He will be remembered for his curiosity, his generosity, his sharp wit, his love for his family, and the deep friendships he nurtured throughout his life.
Private family cremation arrangements are entrusted to McCall Gardens.
Condolences may be offered below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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22 Responses
What a sad loss.
Dear Roger was a master of work/life balance. With warmest memories of a productive and happy time in setting up the Canadian Consulate in Perth.
Loving thoughts with darling Leena.
Thank you for letting us know this sad news about Roger – we had an email from him in April (?) telling us of his diagnosis which was just devastating – we had last seen him in Vancouver 2 years ago and he seemed so fit and well (Leena wasn’t well so didn’t come over). We first met him and Leena in Sydney around 1988 and I often used to have lunch with her when we were both working in Macquarie street. They were such wonderful friends – Roger always such great company – so we were very happy when they returned to Australia albeit we would have liked them to be in Sydney rather than Perth! But we visited them there and we saw them in Sydney on their way through on their many trips/holidays, and as with all old friends, we just took up where we’d left off – the years didn’t matter.
With sympathy to you and all the Blake family