Scripps, who won two games in 2020 during Alex Trebek’s final year as host, passed away on Sept. 20 in Holland, Michigan, according to a notice from Dykstra Funeral Home. His brother, Bubba Mack, confirmed the news in an emotional Instagram post.
The Cadillac, Michigan native—born Gordon Benjamin Scripps in 1972—took home $38,158 over his two-day run on the show. He first qualified in 2019 after taking an online test and auditioning in Chicago, achieving what his obituary described as a “lifelong dream.”
Outside of Jeopardy!, Scripps studied broadcasting at Central Michigan University and went on to work in local television, starting out covering high school sports before producing newscasts for CBS affiliate Channels 9 & 10 in Cadillac.
Mack remembered his brother as gracious and kind even in his final days. Nurses and doctors often praised him as a Jeopardy! champion, but Scripps would humbly reply, “Nope, just good at trivia—you’re the smart ones.”
“Ben lived his life on his terms and knew exactly who he was… and he was terrific,” Mack wrote. “Simply the most kind, caring, gentle, and forgiving person I’ve ever known.”
In a heartfelt tribute, he closed with a Jeopardy!-style answer: “I’ll take the best brother ever for $2,000 please, Alex.”
