Brayden Smith, of Las Vegas, was 24 when he died on February 5. The family did not disclose the cause of death.
“We are very grateful that Brayden was able to live his dream on @jeopardy,” Smith’s mother Debbie, tweeted Friday morning.
Smith won $ 117,798 on the show, with his last appearance taking place in Alex Trebek’s last week on the air. The shows were recorded in October and Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on November 8.
Smith’s six episodes were broadcast from December 15-18, and January 5-6.
“I am very grateful for everything, all the opportunities I had,” he said in a video posted on the Jeopardy website. “I am happy that we were able to do that and I am happy to have shown what I am capable of.”
Smith was an intern at the Cato Institute in Washington, according to the obituary his family provided to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and he planned to attend law school to become a government attorney.
“He was a voracious and self-taught reader, a lover of knowledge and an advocate for justice,” said the obituary.
Smith graduated in 2020 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant,” the producers of “Jeopardy!” tweeted Friday. “Our deepest condolences to the Brayden family.”
In the video about his time on the show, Smith said he was looking forward to appearing at a Jeopardy champion tournament.
“The tournament of champions has been my favorite tournament every year since I was a kid,” he said. “These people are some of my trivial idols.”