The Survivor community has lost another former contestant, as Sunday Burquest from the show’s 33rd season has passed away at age 50.
Another former Survivor contestant has passed away. Sunday Burquest died at the age of 50 after battling esophageal and ovarian cancer. This past June, Sunday spoke to PEOPLE about being diagnosed with esophageal cancer and had a positive outlook on it,
"“Here’s my thinking,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “No one knows how much time you have left. Accidents can happen. Miracles can happen. Someone healthy can die unexpectedly, and someone sick can live for much longer than expected. So I don’t think of this as a death sentence; I think of this as something that has happened, and is now a part of my life. And I’m going to live my life as fully as I can.”"
Sunday first appeared on our screens during Survivor: Millennials vs Gen-X where she was on the Gen-X tribe. Right off the bat, Sunday received a confessional where she discussed how millennials don’t work hard, setting the tone for the theme of the show’s 33rd season. She was a prominent face in the show in the first four episodes but faded into the background as the season went along. She finished in seventh place.
Sunday Burquest from Survivor season 33 has passed away.
Jeff Probst spoke out on the death of Sunday, tweeting that she had one of the brightest smiles he’d seen on the show.
Sunday Burquest had one of the brightest smiles of any person to ever play Survivor. She radiated kindness and understanding. She seemed to understand better than most, that life is for living, so say yes to life whenever possible. My condolences go out to her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/eL2Q1qDw3f
— Jeff Probst (@JeffProbst) April 18, 2021
Sunday’s death now marks nine former contestants who have passed away. The other eight were Jenn Lyon (also from Palau), B.B. Andersen (Borneo), Caleb Bankston (Blood vs Water), Dan Kay (Gabon), Ashley Massaro (China), Rudy Boesch (Borneo), Cliff Robinson (Cagayan), and Angie Jakusz (Palau).
It’s never fun writing these articles and the number of past Survivor contestants who have died is reaching double digits. Sunday’s death hit the Survivor community hard, as she was a positive person who was hard not to like.
Rest in peace, Sunday.