The legacy of late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is being honored with a Forever stamp.
At the first-day-of-issue event on July 22 in Los Angeles, Ken Jennings, Jean Trebek and Michael Elston, Secretary of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, commemorated the star, who died at age 80 on November 8, 2020. Alex's Forever stamp features a question about him set against the popular game show's iconic blue backdrop: "This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons."
Once Alex's Forever stamp was unveiled, Jean expressed gratitude to the U.S. Postal Service for paying tribute to her late husband.
Related: Remembering Alex Trebek's Life and Career in Photos: From Local Canadian TV to Jeopardy!
"His life had such a beautiful impact on so many people around the world, and it's just a real honor for my family and I to be here with all of you to acknowledge that," Jean said. "Alex would have felt overwhelmed with humility and joy to receive such a distinctive tribute."
Reflecting briefly on Alex's decades-long run as Jeopardy! host, Jean said the gig was "a labor of love for him."
"He also found great pleasure in the fact that the contestants were the true stars of the show -- and he loved getting to know his audience," she continued. "This was a perfect time for him to share more about himself, as well as to show off his great wit."
Beyond his charity work with organizations including the American Film Institute and the Musk Ox Development Corporation, a nonprofit which raises and cares for oxen, Jean emphasized that Alex believed his most important role was being a parent to his three children: son Matthew, a restaurateur in Manhattan who owns Oso (a Mexican restaurant in North Harlem) and daughter Emily, who works in real estate in Los Angeles. He also has an older daughter Nicky, whom he adopted when he was married to his first wife Elaine Callei. Added Jean: "He was so very proud of Matthew, Emily and Nicky."
Born in Ontario, Canada, Alex began his career at the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1961. He hosted several other game shows before becoming host of Jeopardy! in 1984.
Throughout his time on the popular game show, he navigated a number of health issues, including two heart attacks, a full knee replacement, surgery to remove blood clots in his brain and a torn Achilles tendon. He was also diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March 2019.
Alex acknowledged in 2019 that he knew he should be more active. At the time, he also shared with PEOPLE that he'd contemplated the idea of retirement, but he would not know what to do with his free time.
"You get to a certain age, and if you've been doing the same show for 30 years, or the same job, whatever it is, for 30 years, wouldn't you think about retirement?" he told PEOPLE. "What am I gonna do? I'm enjoying myself and I'm having a good time with what I'm doing now, but if I were to retire, what would I do? I'd be lost."
"My wife would say I'm getting on her nerves, because I'm around all the time," he continued. "I'm around most of the time anyway now except for two days."
Related: Alex Trebek and Jean Trebek's Relationship Timeline
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Although Alex and Jean celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary in 2019, the game show host shared with PEOPLE that he wished they'd had even more time together.
"I'm pretty satisfied with my life," Alex said at the time. "But my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President [George H.W.] Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh ... if I'd just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together."
He joked, "I guess if I'd met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn't have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good!"
