“MasterChef Junior” competitor Ben Watkins died from a rare form of cancer Monday.
Watkins had been undergoing treatment for a soft tissue tumor, angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma, at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, according to TMZ. He was 14-years-old at the time of his death.
“Despite all the pain and sickness Ben went through, he never complained, not once,” Watkins’ uncle and legal guardian Anthony Edwards told the Chicago Tribune.
Watkins had been receiving treatment for 18 months, according to his uncle.
“We were praying for a different outcome,” Edwards told the outlet. “But Ben’s lungs could no longer give him the air he needed to breathe. It’s been devastating.”
Ben Watkins doing what he loved ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/OuDxnUHfS1
— Jeremiah ???? (@JerryPistons15) November 18, 2020
“MasterChef Junior” shared a statement of mourning on Twitter. (RELATED: ‘So Awkward’ Actor Archie Lyndhurst Dead At 19 After ‘Short Illness’)
“It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Ben Watkins, a beloved member of the MasterChef Junior family,” the show said in a statement on Twitter. “Ben overcame so much in his life with a remarkably positive attitude.”
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Ben Watkins, a beloved member of the MasterChef Junior family. Ben overcame so much in his life with a remarkably positive attitude. pic.twitter.com/85bEehXlgM
— MasterChef Junior (@MasterChefJrFOX) November 18, 2020
“He was a tremendous role model for chefs of all ages and will be dearly missed by everyone at EndemolShine North America and FOX Entertainment,” the statement continued.
Watkins competed in season six of “MasterChef Junior” back in 2018, roughly a year after his dad killed him mom and then himself in a murder-suicide.