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Cindy Stowell died of cancer on Dec. 5, but viewers have been captivated by watching her winning streak on "Jeopardy!" in episodes that began airing Dec. 13. The late Stowell again appears in tonight's episode.

(Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

Most of the time, "Jeopardy!" is an entertaining walk down trivia lane, an opportunity to test your knowledge of everything from history to pop culture while digesting dinner.

But the past few episodes of "Jeopardy!" have been something much more special, and more meaningful. Since Dec. 13, viewers have watched as Cindy Stowell, a contestant from Austin, Texas, has won and continued to compete. On Monday night's episode, Stowell won for the fifth time in a row, bringing her accumulated winnings to $80,002.

As many already know, Stowell herself didn't live to see her "Jeopardy!" winning streak on TV. A lifelong fan of "Jeopardy!," Stowell, 41, was able to appear on the show even when she was suffering from Stage 4 cancer. Her episodes were filmed in late summer, and Stowell died on Dec. 5.

The "Jeopardy!" website shares some details of Stowell's extraordinary story. Stowell, a science content developer, had been a fan of "Jeopardy!" for years. She passed the online contestant test early in 2016 and this summer, was invited for the next step - an in-person audition in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Stowell contacted a "Jeopardy!" producer with an unusual message:

"Do you have any idea how long it typically takes between an in person interview, and the taping date? I ask because I just found out that I don't have too much longer to live. The doctor's best guess is about 6 months. If there is the chance that I'd be able to still tape episodes of Jeopardy! if I were selected, I'd like to do that and donate any winnings to ... charities involved in cancer research. If it is unlikely that the turnaround time would be that quick, then I'd like to give up my try out spot to someone else."

"Jeopardy!" producers agreed that Stowell should come to Oklahoma City for the audition, and if she passed that, they would schedule her taping as soon as possible.

Three weeks later, on Aug. 31, Stowell began taping.

As the "Jeopardy!" site says, when Stowell taped her appearances on the show, only host Alex Trebek and a few other staffers were aware of Stowell's condition.

Stowell's quietly impressive performance on "Jeopardy!" continues, since she won the episode that aired on Monday night. She will again appear on "Jeopardy!" tonight, at 7 p.m. on KATU (2.)

-- Kristi Turnquist