Dan Kay, a former contestant on Survivor: Gabon, died unexpectedly on Dec. 31, PEOPLE has confirmed. He was 40.
Kay, an attorney from Brookline, New Hampshire, was born in 1976. According to an
obituary from the Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, he earned a bachelor’s degree from UMass-Amherst and, later, a law degree from Syracuse University.
Kay practiced law in Boston for five years and used his money to purchase several investment properties. The long hours and stressful environment left him feeling depressed and unfulfilled, so he made a change in his early 30s. He left his job and sold his investments before competing on Survivor: Gabon. “I had my midlife crisis early,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “It was a big decision to change things up, but I think it’ll be better for my life.”
Kay’s obituary describes his hobbies as “running, skiing, listening to music, and attending Crossway Christian Church” and notes that his “desire to be challenged and his quest for adventure led to his participation on the reality show, Survivor.”
