Thank You For 37 Years, Alex Trebek

37 years ago, a new face was shown to the world by way of Jeopardy. That face was yours, Mr. Trebek. From your humble beginnings in Canada to international superstardom you remained pure and honest both off and on the screen. I remember coming home from school and watching re-runs of you with my grandparents and every Sunday after dinner. You not only brought my family but families across the world together for decades.

The whole world was shocked when in 2019 you announced that you had stage four pancreatic cancer. I can bet that most viewers like myself would have been totally okay with you resigning, taking care of yourself and spending time with your family.

But we were wrong.

You knew your days were coming to an end with the show, but as we all know “the show must go on.” That is exactly what you did for us. You kept the show going.

The final show of yours was on October 29, 10 days before you passed away. Throughout your time bringing families together across the globe you did 6,829 shows and hold the record for most consecutive game shows done. Your comforting voice was there after a long day of work for not only me but millions of people around the globe.

Your contribution to National Geographic for the past 25 years will also be deeply missed. Not just by your financial contributions, but you were the host of the Geographic Bee. You also gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to my home state of California to help combat our astronomical homeless problem. Your contributions have not only changed lives but have helped who communities of people get back on their feet. You also donated $1.2 million to your alma mater, Ottawa University. You were a selfless individual and used your platform to change millions of lives.

So here’s to you, Mr. Trebek.

Thank you.

I’m sure you had some idea of how people felt about you. If you didn’t, you were and are loved. You will be missed and honestly, Jeopardy won’t be the same. You were Jeopardy, Alex. Your calm voice and cool demeanor will be missed.

So like you said after your last show, “And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.”