Jan Gentry

Jan Gentry (born October 31, 1948 in Fort Worth, Texas[1]) is as of May 2013 a first-grade schoolteacher of McKitrick Elementary School in Lutz, Florida.[2] She previously was a secretary for tennis professional Martina Navratilova, held a business hand-painting custom, and worked for a clothing store in Orlando, Florida.[1] She earned her Bachelor of Science in education and teaching certificate from Texas Wesleyan University.[3] She started her educational career in 1987 at the Fort Worth Independent School District teaching special education. Included in her other early credentials were Vidor Elementary School, Pine Hill Elementary School, Bellamy Elementary School.[4]

Gentry is the youngest to her three older siblings, including one brother who died from a car accident at her childhood.[4] She resides in Tampa Bay|Tampa Bay, Florida, with her current husband.[1] She has five children, including three from her first marriage that ended with divorce in early 1990s and one stepdaughter.[4]

At the start of Survivor: Thailand, Gentry was the oldest woman and second-oldest player of the whole cast.[5] Furthermore, when the season started with a schoolyard pick, she and 61-year-old land broker Jake Billingsley were chosen as the oldest players of their own genders to select players for, respectively, the Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai tribes. Gentry strategically chose "older, less athletic people" who would possess survival skills, like building campfire and hunting.[6] The Chuay Gahn, due to their better teamwork, eventually won most of tribal immunity challenges, resulting in the younger, more athletic Sook Jai decimated in Tribal Councils.[7]

After staying mostly under the radar,[8] Gentry became the fourteenth and final player voted out in the penultimate Tribal Council by eventual winner Brian Heidik, the only legitimate person to vote a player off while possessing the Individual Immunity Idol, earned from winning the season's final immunity challenge. Thus, she was placed third and became the seven and final jury member of the season. She earned about $85,000 for her placement.[2][7] Past contestants, including Marquesas contestant Sean Rector and Africa winner Ethan Zohn, praised Gentry's gameplay and "easygoing personality", despite her poor performance in physical challenges and "sometimes kooky" moments, like "crying over the (stillborn) bat and everything".[7]

One of her sons visited Thailand to see Jan onscreen in one episode. One of her daughters Molly appeared on an American dating series Blind Date (American TV series)|Blind Date in no later than 2004.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Survivor: Thailand – Jan". CBS. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Deggans, Eric (May 10, 2013). "Tampa Bay Survivor contestants reminisce about experiences". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022. The article stated that third-place Thailand player Jan Gentry earned $115,000 . The validity is uncertain when CBS stated the other amount.
3. ↑ Philpot, Robert (September 19, 2002). "Survivor: Texas". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Life & Arts section, p. 1.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Balz, John (September 19, 2002). "She's Not Telling". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1D.
5. ↑ Deggans, Eric (September 19, 2002). "Have the ratings spoken?". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1D.
6. ↑ Deggans, Eric (December 21, 2002). "Survivor Jan coasts to $85,000". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 1B.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Deggans, Eric (December 20, 2002). "Jan wins respect, but not a million". Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay, Florida. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
8. ↑ Philpot, Robert (December 19, 2002). "After 5 seasons, Survivor still defying the odds". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Life & Arts section, p. 1 - via NewsBank.

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