Leslie William Blais of Fort St. John, BC passed away in Edmonton, AB on December 10, 2011. He was born to Bill and Noreen Blais on September 5,1954 in Grande Prairie, AB. He moved to Fort St. John when he was 8 months old. He was a speed skater in his youth, travelling to many competitions including the Canada Winter Games
and he had an opportunity to try out for the Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. He worked for BC Rail, Peace Canyon Dams, West Coast Energy and he also formed his own company. He always lived by the rule to never ask someone to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself. He willingly lent a hand to anyone who needed it, whether jumping in with both feet to help, lending tools for the job, bringing the tractor and trailer over or maybe just bringing his famous coffee mug over to supervise. His outgoing personality often led to conversation with complete strangers. He loved to tell a good story and he loved to drive, driving to Edmonton just for a coffee was one of his favorite stories. He had a wonderful sense of humour that kept us in stitches. He met his wife Paulette on one of his many road trips while visiting his sister and brother-in-law in Saskatchewan.. Les and Paulette were married on March 26, 1977. They had two daughters Kimberly and Chantal who were his pride and joy. Their family travelled all over the country for provincial and national bowling competitions. Les always wore his famous red tee shirt so the girls could pick him out of the crowd. He taught his daughters and a few other people in his life how to drive a stick shift. He enjoyed four wheeling, water skiing, camping and fishing with his family. He couldn’t wait to be a grandfather and was affectionately known as “Papa” by his grandbabies. Les is predeceased by his parents William (Bill) and Noreen Blais. He will be greatly missed by his wife Paulette, daughter Kimberly Edmond (Dean) and his” little buddy” , grandson Benjamin, daughter Chantal Nielsen (Darin) and granddaughters, his “short stuff”, Violet and his “sweetheart”, Nora, his sister Fay Brule (Marcel), his nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends.