Letter to the Editor

Alex Trebek

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Dear Editor,

Larry Evans, director of the Trenton Public Library, and Carol Wimer, assistant program director of El Dorado Manor, have made life more tolerable for me. They made certain that books were sent to me to read during the coronavirus pandemic.

I am the first person to check out “The Answer is Reflections on My Life” by Alex Trebek, published by Simon & Schuster in July 2020.

Back in 2019, Trebek was diagnosed with Stave IV pancreatic cancer. Since then, he has received radiation and chemotherapy.

In his autobiography, Trebek talks about his father, George Edward Terebeychuk, who immigrated from Ukraine to Canada. He took a train to Ottawa, but ended up in Toronto because he had a cousin there.

He was hired as a cook at the King Edward Hotel. Later, he moved to the mining town of Sudbury. He changed his last name to Trebek. It was easier to pronounce.

The police asked him to help when they dealt with certain criminals because he spoke Polish and Ukrainanian -- Russian.

He met Lucille Legace, a French Canadian. She was the mother of his children, Alex and Barbara. Alex spoke French and English. He was bilingual.

Alex established friendships with the contestants on Jeopardy. One of them was Ken Jennings, a 30-year-old software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah. In fact, he traveled there to visit him.

Jennings was on Jeopardy for 16 weeks and won $2.52 million.

Back in May 1993, Trebek mentioned that he would like to conduct an orchestra. He and his wife, Jean, went to Greenville, a small town north of Pittsburg, Pa., (Trebek learned they were struggling financially.)

He was coachd by the conductor and could not read music. $40,000 worth of tickets were sold.

Trebek traveled to Ethiopia with Jean and his children, Emily and Mathew. They were volunteers for World Vision. A young mother handed him her baby. He discovered that she was trying to give it to him, because she feared it would starve to death.

Those who know Alex Trebek will tell you that he is a kind and caring person.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.

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