Former Survivor: The Amazon contestant Roger Sexton has died at the age of 76. He died on October 26, per an obituary shared by his family. Sexton had dementia and was in hospice care when he died in his daughter’s home.
“Roger Kenward Sexton — father, grandfather, husband, brother, Marine, Survivor — passed away at the home of his daughter and son-in-law on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, after a valiant and courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia,” the obituary reads. “Surrounded by his loving family and the caring assistance of Walla Walla Hospice, Roger was finally able to find peace.”
Born and raised in California, the retired Marine served in the Vietnam War. Following his service, he went to college and married his wife, going on to pursue a successful career in construction estimation.
Sexton appeared in Season 6 of Survivor, in which the players were split into two teams of just men and just women. He became a leader of his Tambaqui tribe, but he eventually had a conflict with the younger men and the women of the merge tribe. When the women realized Sexton would likely never vote for a woman to win the game, the women successfully planned to blindside him to get him out, making Sexton the first contestant cut post-merge. He was the seventh elimination of the season.
Sexton’s family noted the abrasive nature Survivor viewers came to know him for in their obituary.
“Confidence, discipline, and determination to succeed were all vital components to Roger’s character, which assisted him in being cast on Season 6 of the reality TV show Survivor in 2002. However, the other more challenging aspects of his character eventually prevailed, leading to his eventual demise, but provided lasting memories of the exacerbating force that was Roger,” it reads.
It continues: “Above all else, Roger was an amazing provider to his family, cherishing his role as a father to his daughters, Heather and Amy. Unfortunately, Roger lost his sweet daughter, Heather, at the young age of 16 due to viral pneumonia on October 22, 1992, a loss still felt by all who knew her. However, the love Roger felt for Heather carried over to the love he felt for his grandchildren, Drew and Hadley, keeping her memory alive through them and becoming their endearing Be Pa. Therefore, it is with love that we say goodbye, or as Be Pa would often say, “see you later, alligator, in a while, crocodile, don’t let the moles slow you down.”
Sexton is survived by his wife of 54 years, Diane, daughter Amy, son-in-law Brian Evensen, grandchildren Drew and Hadley Evensen, and his two sisters, Pamela Mills and Patricia Markowitz.
