Alex Trebek on Wednesday took a moment to honor Jeopardy contestant Cindy Stowell, who on Dec. 5 died from Stage 4 colon cancer. She was 41.
Stowell, a six-day champion whose earnings totaled $103,801, filmed her episodes in August and September. (Her episodes began airing on Dec. 13.) Those earnings were donated posthumously to cancer research.
“Appearing on our show was the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition for [Cindy Stowell],” Trebek remarked. “From all of us here at Jeopardy, our sincere condolences to her family and her friends.”
In a video posted to the show’s YouTube account, a teary eyed Stowell, who powered through her tapings with a high-grade fever and blood infection, touched on what it meant to her to appear on the long-running game show:
“Even when you think the odds are stacked completely against you, somehow via luck or something, things can work out.”
