Alex Trebek Pays Tribute To Jeopardy Contestant Who Died Before Her Episodes Aired

Cindy Stowell was the first person to ever appear on Jeopardy! posthumously. The contestant passed away from Stage IV cancer on December 5, one week before her first episode aired. This past Wednesday marked the end of her six-game winning streak on the show, and to honor her and her memory, Alex Trebek paid a special tribute.

“For the past six Jeopardy! programs, you folks have been getting to know the talented champion, Cindy Stowell. Appearing on the show was the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition for that lady,” Trebek said at the end of her final show.

Cindy had been able to complete her dream goal of finally being able to compete on the trivia quiz game. She was afraid that her cancer and possibly her untimely death would interfere with the taping of the show, but that was not the case. So, not only was she able to compete, but she was able to win a total of $105,803 – all of which she vowed to donate to a cancer research.

“So, from all of us here at Jeopardy!, our sincere condolences to her family and her friends,” continued Trebek.

On Wednesday, Sam Scovill finally beat Stowell, ending her six-game streak. To this, Cindy’s boyfriend Jason Hess Tweeted out to the new champion, congratulating him on beating his recently passed girlfriend.

“Ya! Yay! Damnit! Great game,” Hess tweeted.

Scovill replied in the best possible way.

“I’d like to give thanks to @habcous for his graciousness during a very difficult time. Can’t put into words how great of a person he is,” Scovill replied via Twitter. “What they did for Cindy was amazing. The people at #jeopardy are beyond first class.”

It seems like Scovill and Hess are also first class kinds of people.

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[H/T PEOPLE]