Cancer-stricken woman's 'Jeopardy!' win brings comfort to loved ones after her death

When Cindy Stowell died on Dec. 5 of colon cancer, her winning streak on Jeopardy! hadn't hit the airwaves yet. Now, it's become a source of comfort among her loved ones, including boyfriend Jason Hess.

"That's kind of been a real bright point among ... some other tragic circumstances," Hess told CNN's New Day. As of when he spoke to the network, Cindy's six-day on-air winning streak allotted a total of $103,803 so far.

Her tally grew to more than $123,000 and the 41-year-old had promised to donate the money to cancer research, according to the New York Times. Her final appearance on the show aired Wednesday.

"It's definitely been a mix of emotions the past couple weeks," said Hess, who attended the tapings with Stowell. "But I think that the Jeopardy! part has been one of the more fun parts for me I'll say, because even though I know how it turns out, it was so thrilling ... to kind of show the world how well she did."

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Hess recalled that his girlfriend was "a little unsteady" on the Jeopardy! set and that those closer to her were "hyperaware" of her physical wellbeing.

"It's still pretty amazing to me because she was not doing fairly well the day before and was understandably worn out and exhausted right afterwards," Hess said. "But she did great when it came time to present."