Nicky Trebek is grateful for the happy times she shared with her father, late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.
The beloved game show host died on Nov. 8, 2020 of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old.
Alex Trebek Fought His Cancer Cheerfully
Before he died, Trebek waged a year-and-a-half-long battle against the disease. He also became an outspoken educator on the subject of pancreatic cancer.
“Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working,” Trebek said when he received his diagnosis. “And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
As the disease ran its course, Trebek started to wrestle with cancer symptoms at the same time as he continued to fulfill his duties on “Jeopardy!”, according to a timeline compiled by Fox News. But he retained his positive outlook, and when his cancer was in near-remission, he said he believed people’s thoughts and prayers had done the trick.
“I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed toward me and their prayers,” he said. “I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this.”
Then, as the cancer returned and the treatments started to take their toll on Trebek, he turned reflective. He contemplated the rich life he had led.
“I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life,” he said. “If it happens, why should I be afraid of that?”
Nicky Trebek Remembers Her Father
Indeed, Trebek’s good life included a marriage to Nicky’s mother, Elaine Trebek Kares. They married in 1974 and divorced in 1981.
Now Nicky is keeping her late father’s memory alive with an Instagram post commemorating his death.
“#february8 it’s been 3 months and rather than post something sad I #choosejoy,” she posted to Instagram. “this always makes me laugh thinking about how many times he did that trying to get it right 😅#threemonths #missingyoualways #dad #milestonesandmemories.”
Accompanying the caption is a picture of Trebek pointing to the questions wall with both arms.
The late “Jeopardy!” host surely would have approved of the cheerful tribute.
