Alex Trebek paid tribute to Jeopardy! contestant Cindy Stowell, who died on December 5, one week before her appearance on the quiz show aired. Watch the video above to hear what he said.
Stowell, who died at the age of 41 after battling cancer, had a six-game winning streak on the show, earning a total of $105,803, before losing to another contestant on Wednesday, December 21.
“For the past six Jeopardy! programs, you folks have been getting to know the talented champion Cindy Stowell,” the show’s host, Trebek, said in a taped segment at the end of Wednesday’s episode. “Appearing on the show was the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition for that lady.”
“What you did not know is that when we taped these programs with her a few weeks ago, she was suffering from stage IV cancer, and sadly, on December 5, Cindy Stowell passed away,” he continued. “So from all of us here at Jeopardy, our sincere condolences to her family and her friends.”
The science-content developer from Austin, Texas, taped her appearance on the long-running show back in August.
Stowell’s boyfriend, Jason Hess, took to Twitter on December 5 to share a picture of her and Trebek.
“She was such a badass,” he wrote, adding that “she was fighting a high-grade fever (which turned out to be a blood infection) and was on painkillers while taping.”
Sam Scovill, who ended Stowell’s winning run on Jeopardy! on Wednesday, also paid tribute to his fierce competitor on Twitter and asked people to donate to the Cancer Research Institute in her memory. Stowell competed on the show with the intention of donating her winnings to cancer-related charities.
