Windsorite living in Sudbury was first contestant on Jeopardy! from Alex Trebek's hometown

When Reem Fattouh became a contestant on popular trivia show Jeopardy! she had a unique connection to host Alex Trebek that set her a part from the other contestants: she was living in Sudbury. 

Fattouh, who was born in Windsor, became the first person from Sudbury to compete in the years since Trebek had been hosting the show. 

Trebek died at the age of 80 Sunday after battling pancreatic cancer. He publicly announced his diagnosis in March 2019. With Trebek's passing, Fattouh spoke with CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive about her time on the show in 2013. 

"It was so exciting, it was a combination of a life of having watched this game show every night and participating from home and then all of a sudden being on the show itself, it was just an amazing experience," she said. 

As for Trebek's reaction when he found out Fattouh was from his hometown of Sudbury, she said he seemed "thrilled." 

Fattouh's love for trivia began in Windsor when she attended Vincent Massey Secondary School and part of the school's Reach for the Top trivia team. 

She said she spent a lot of time watching Jeopardy! to perfect her trivia skills. 

"I think everybody's a little bit sad," Fattouh said of the mood in Sudbury Monday. "Here's this person that came from this really small city and became famous on a world stage. He had a great life lived, he did so many good things as far as making knowledge and curiosity interesting and something to be celebrated."

LISTEN: Former Jeopardy! contestants speak with Tom Power on Q