Survivor's Jennifer Lyon: I Will Miss You, My Friend.

Wednesday, 20 January 2010 08:03 | Written by Byron

Jennifer Lyon, of Survivor Palau, has died.

I have not been able to confirm via her family that she did indeed die on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, but reports of her death are all over the Internet [Update, Noon, Wed. Jan 20: People.com has confirmed her death here].

Years ago, I met her at the studios of AMNorthwest. She was on the chat show to talk about being a breast cancer survivor. After that day, we stayed in touch and became friends. I love her dearly.

Here is the last email I received from her on Dec. 29, 2009:

I AM MOVING BACK TO OREGON THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!!! My mom and I will head up there with as much stuff as we can stuff in her van and move into our rental in Hood River...Looking forward to seeing you and Juan much more... xoxoxoxo, jenn

I was so excited for Jenn's return. One of her dearest friends, Kristy McKenzie (pictured below), and I had all sorts of plans for her.

Although Jenn may have came in fourth on Survivor: Palau, what happened to her after she was voted off that island in 2004, has proved this amazing woman is more than any mere "survivor."

She had been battling cancer for more than five years.

She first went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in 2005.

It has been a difficult period of her life, but also a time of great learning and compassion for the 38-year-old reality star and actress (she appeared in Daddy Day Care).

That's why she moved back to the place she considers home: Oregon.

Jenn was hoping to recover, once again, from a disease that continued to ravage her body.

I visited with her in Portland and Hood River in mid-October of 2009. On a walk along the Columbia River, Jenn who was still very optimistic about her future, told me she wanted to leave a "legacy."

I think she did. She was an amazing woman. I will miss her dearly. Here are photos from our walk on Oct. 19.

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Comments (5)

|76.97.123.xxx |2010-01-20 12:32:42 Sarah - Heartbreaking

I followed this link from ICYDK, and just wanted to leave a little comment here. It's so tragic when someone dies, but even more so when that person is so young. When you mentioned in your post that she wanted to leave a legacy and then saw the photos, I immediately thought of my Storybooks. I help people create books that tell a story about their life- with pictures. Mostly babies, weddings, etc. but a lot of people make books for their departed loved ones as well. The process of creating a book can be very therapeutic and it's a beautiful way to capture her memory and spirit so that it never fades away. If you're interested in creating a book for her, please email and I can help you get started.

You, and all her friends and family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
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|206.188.175.xxx |2010-01-20 20:12:08 aldo - God Speed

From one cancer survivor to another, may you find the peace and comfort that eluded you down here.
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|71.105.161.xxx |2010-02-04 21:06:27 Jan

What a wonderful and courageous lady.
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|72.187.121.xxx |2010-02-12 20:51:33 Linda

I was watching the "Survivor" special tonight and I noticed at the end there was a memorial for Jenn's passing. It is so sad when someone so young is taken away. I am a two time cancer survivor, the first was in 1996 of rectal cancer, I was cured of that and not more than two years after that I found out I had stage two breast cancer, but with the excellent medical treatments, my family, and my faith. I made it. God Bless you Jenn and keep you in his hands.
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