In Memoriam
P.J. TODD, Thornhill's first Headmaster, died in October 1970.PETER SIEBERT, former deputy head, died in Switzerland after receiving treatment for a brain tumour.
ROBERT RALPH REDMAN (one of Thornhill's "Pioneer" pupils) died on 9 November 1965 of an asthma attack on a flight to Stanleyville.
DAVID BROMLEY was killed in an accident in 1967
MRS MURIEL BROMLEY (Commerce Teacher) passed away in 1972.
LYNNE SMITH died tragically in a car accident on 4 November 1973
JEFF COLLETT, C Sqd Rhodesian SAS, ex-Thornhill High School, Gwelo, killed in 1978 on the external raid into Zambia at Mkushi.
RUSSELL POOLE, Mortar Troop, Support Cdo, 1RLI, killed in action on 19th April 1979 Chiduku TTL, Fire Force contact.
PETER McDONALD, BSAP, was killed on active service on 15 May 1979.
COLIN NEASHAM, 1 Commando Rhodesian Light Infantry, killed in action 6th September 1979, Operation Uric in Mozambique.
KEVIN BOTHMA was killed as a result of a vehicle accident in 1979 whilst on a call-up in the Army.
KATHY BROMLEY passed away in 1979
EDWARD BENZIES was murdered in Zimbabwe in the 80's.
DAVID BENZIES passed away from a heart attack whilst in Cape Town on a training course. He was resident in Zimbabwe.
HOWARD MOFFET (at Thornhill 1968 to 1973) was shot and killed at Kamativi Mine on 2 May 1980.
TONY TEMPLEMORE-WALTERS, sadly passed away in 1980 from gunshot wounds inflicted in an ambush whilst serving on the border with Zambia in Internal Affairs.
GEOFFREY LAMBERT, Headmaster of Thornhill 1962-1967, passed away in Howick, Natal, in April 1986.
VAUGHAN BURDEN died in a work-related accident in January 1987.
THYS LOURENS was shot by dissidents while playing darts at a Sports Club in May 1987. He was at Thornhill 1961-1965.
STEPHEN HEWITT was tragically killed in a motor bike accident on his way to work on 3 July 1987.
ANTHONY (Tony) OWEN passed away tragically in March 1990.
MAARTEN VAN DER VELDEN (known as "Dutch") was tragically killed in a car accident in 1991.
JOY DICKER (nee FERGUSON) died of cancer on 19 April 1991 aged 44.
DEREK RITCHIE died in an accident on 9 May 1991.
OLIVIER CELDRE died in an accident on 2 November 1991.
HENDRIK (Blackie) SWART passed away in 1993.
RICHMAL NORDIN died tragically on 9 November 1993.
SYLVIA MORAINE died of cancer in 1995.
INGRID MARAIS died in 1997, the victim of a bee sting.
NORMAN GRAHAM (Hore) died in a motorbike accident in May 1997.
ALAN BARR, attended Thornhill in the 60s, passed away on 18 November 1998, aged 49.
BRENDA ANN LIGHT died after a heart attack on 8 October 1999.
MRS COVENTRY (teacher) passed away in October 1999.
JAN NEL passed away on 4 Feb 2001.
KAREL DE HAAS died tragically in Wundowie, Perth, Australia, on 5 June 2001. Karel was at Thornhill from 1958 until about June 1963.
BLAKE EVANS (THS 1972-1976) passed away on 30 July 2001.
ANDY EVANS (staff) passed away in 2002.
BARRY JOVNER passed away on 6 November 2002.
GILLIAN ATKINS (formerly Blyth, nee Le Roith), at Thornhill school in the 1960s, passed away in the UK on 11 November 2002
TERRY HART, French teacher and Cranwell House Superintendent, died of cancer in 2002.
NICK HOLMAN, former Maths master, hockey coach and deputy head, died on 28th November 2002 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
JANICE WATKINSON (nee Bossert) at Thornhill until 1966, died in 2003 after a long battle with cancer.
ROBERT (Skippy) TYNE died on 8 March 2003.
LYNETTE FINEGAN (nee Palmer) passed away on 17th September 2003. She was head girl in 1961.
WAYNE ROBERTSON passed away on 24 September 2003.
MARIE (Noddy) PURDON (nee Warrington) passed away on 23 October 2003 aged 44.
KEN VAN BLERK , biology teacher in the 1960's, passed away in Hillcrest, Durban on 12th December 2003.
EILEEN INGLE (nee Bayne) passed away suddenly in Johannesburg on 9th January 2004.
DAVID BOOTHROYD, Thornhill 1970 to 1975. Died in Scotland 7 October 2004.
WILLIAM TREVOR (WALLY) PATTERSON passed away on 2 Sept 2004 from a heart attack. He was at Thornhill 1958 - 1961.
DOODLES VILJOEN (founder member of staff) died suddenly on 25 March 2005 at his home in Gweru.
DAVID PALMER died suddenly on the15th April 2005 in the South of England
GLADYS SMITH, who taught at Thornhill for many years (Music and Afrikaans), passed away in April 2006 after a short illness.
NELLA REECE passed away on 15 April 2006. She was the cook matron at the girls hostel in 1981/82 before moving to Chaplin.
SUE KELLY (nee Duffin) passed away in Buckinghamshire, England, on 20th March 2006 after a brain haemorrhage.
ALEXANDER CHARLES BLACKADDER (at Thornhill late 50s/early 60s) passed away on 25 May 2006 aged 63
DES VAN ROOYEN passed away in 2006. He attended Thornhill High from 1958.
KEVIN CORNISH died on the 20th February 2007 in Plumtree.
KEITH SWARTZ passed away on 14 April 2007
PHILIP ADCOCK passed away on 8th June 2007 at Claybank Hospital, Gweru.
MIRANDA BLOOM passed away in July 2007.
CONNIE OOSTHUYSEN passed away on 2 October 2007.
EDITH LAMB passed away suddenly on the 27 November, 2007
JON EADIE (former Headmaster) passed away in 2007
TONY BOTHMA passed away on 1 January 2008, aged 47.
GRAHAM WEAVER , teacher of Maths and Physics at Thornhill in the mid-seventies, passed away in May 2008.
LESLIE STOUT died in a motorbike accident in Pretoria on the 6th October 2008.
MIKE COLLINS passed away on 28 April 2009
ALAN ROWE was ambushed and shot dead on his farm in the Natal Midlands during the evening of the 13th May 2009.
MURELLE HAYES died suddenly in Harare on 14 June 2009.
HENNIE BAKKES passed away on Thursday 16 June 2009.
GAIL HANDY (nee Millard) passed away on August 22, 2009 from Breast Cancer. She was living in Palm Bay, Florida, USA. She was at Thornhill until moving to the US in 1978.
DEANNE VAN HUYSSTEEN (nee Van Heerden ) Died suddenly in Pretoria, on the 29th August 2009. She left Thornhill in 1964.
REG WICKENS passed away in September 2009.
ROGER (SPIDER) ATKINSON died suddenly on 15 March 2010 at the age of 57. He was at Thornhill from 65 till 69.
ROY KALIL died on 9 April 2010 from cancer of the stomach.
ANGELA GREGORY (nee HOUSHOLD) passed away in October 2010 after a battle with liver cancer.
DON LAWRENCE died 12th March 2011 of a heart attack in Somerset West, Cape.
BRIAN AUTHERS died 9 June 2011 aged 63
KAREN BYRNE (Thornhill 1972 to 1975) passed away in August 2011 after a battle with cancer
SHELLEY KNOTT passed away 21 October 2011.
CARROL FOSTER (nee SHIRLEY) died of cancer on 10 February 2012.
ESME SMITH (School secretary in the 70s and mother of Lynne, Sandy, Bronwyn and Pony) passed away on 16 February 2012 in Howick, KwaZulu Natal.
PENNY GRAHAM (nee FORD) passed away in UK on the 19 February 2012 after a long battle with cancer.
GILLIAN HARBOUR (nee FLAKE formerly LEWIS) passed away in Ireland on 14 June 2012 after suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
KATHY JENKINS (nee TILLETT) passed away on 28 July 2012 aged 56.
DOT CAIRNS (teacher and hostel superintendent) passed away on 4 January 2013 in Queensland, Australia, after a long illness.
GRAHAM BOTHMA died on 19 February 2013 after a heart attack.
DARRYL PFAFF died suddenly in March 2013.
PHILIP ALP passed away on 5 April 2013 aged 67.
SHARON GREGSON-ALLCOTT (nee HAYES) died suddenly on 19 April 2013, at her home in Centenary, Zimbabwe.
JENNY McGAW (nee CHIVERS) (teacher) passed away on 9 July 2013 after a battle with cancer.
WAYNE DEREK JEREMIAH passed away on 5 August 2013.
THEUNIS DE KLERK passed away in Witbank on 5 October 2013 after a heart aneurism. He was 66.
KATHY VAN BEURDEN (nee BALLANTYNE) passed away on 25 October 2013 after a lengthy illness.
SHIRLEY LAMB passed away on 8 November 2013.
BRENDA ALDERSON (nee BUDD) passed away on November 23rd 2013 after a tough fight with cancer.
BLAIR WHITE passed away in November 2013 after a battle with cancer.
RORY HARBINSON passed away on December 12th 2013 after a long battle with cancer.
MARGIE CUNLIFFE (teacher) passed away 12 January 2014 after a battle with cancer.
PETER BARLOW passed away on 5 March 2014, aged 66.
PAM BATES (nee DAVIES) passed away on 6 March 2014.
LYNETTE WELLS (nee VAN HEERDEN) passed away on 13 March 2014 after a long illness.
MICHAEL BRETT SMITH passed away on 15 April 2014.
DON BURDEN passed away tragically on 4 May 2014 as a result of a motor-bike accident.
AILEEN BOTHMA (nee VAN BREDA) passed away in South Africa on 15 October 2014.
PIET RAUTENBACH passed away on 15 Oct 2014 after a 4 year struggle with Steele Richardson Syndrome.
SUDDEN BEKKER passed away on 16 October 2014 after a short illness.
WYN DALLAS passed away suddenly on 26 October 2014.
ERNIE VENTER passed away on 6 November 2014 after suffering a stroke.
ANNETTE HAHN passed away in Florida on 19 November 2014 after a 5-year struggle with breast cancer which spread to her brain and lungs.
JUNE (JUANITA) BADENHORST (nee SWART) passed away in November 2014.
MURIEL RICHARDSON (English teacher in the 1960s) passed away in 2014.
CAROLE NATHANSON (nee BELL) passed away in January 2015 in Port Elizabeth.
ANDY NIMMO (teacher) passed away in UK on 27 January 2015.
CHERYL McKIE (nee SPENCER) passed away on 23 May 2015.
LILIAN MATTHEWS (Bursar at Thornhill in the mid-70s) passed away peacefully in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 2 August 2015, at the age of 88.
TREVOR WIESNER passed away on 4 August 2015 aged 61.
ROB TUBBS passed away in Pretoria on 6 December 2015.
VERONICA HIGTE (nee PRESTON) passed away on 4 February 2016 in Bloemfontein.
GILLY SQUAIR (teacher in the early 1960s) passed away on 7 June 2016 aged 87.
MIKE STEWART (one of the Thornhill 'pioneers') passed away in UK on 4 July 2016.
TERRY WILSON passed away in Durban on 11 July 2016, from cancer.
EARLE WAKEFORD passed away on 22 July 2016 in Klerksdorp.
JOHN B.F. SHIRLEY (a Thornhill 'pioneer' pupil) passed away on 23 October 2016 in Cape Town.
ALAN PAWSON (Thornhill 1963 - 1967) passed away in November 2016.
GORDON RIENTS DYKSTRA (Geography teacher) passed away on 13 December 2016 aged 94.
JUDY MAUREEN PARKIN passed away on 14 December 2016.
IAN McKIE (Thornhill 1960 - 1964) passed away on 1 January 2017.
GARRICK ANTHONY RAYMOND SMITH passed away on 21st January 2017.
PAM MARKHAM (nee Scott Rodger) passed away in Pietermaritzburg on the 6th February 2017.
NIGEL McFARLANE (Head Boy 1963) passed away on 12 February 2017 after a long battle with cancer.
JOHN DRINKWATER (Former Headmaster) passed away on 14 June 2017 in Margate.
JOHN (JOSS) NESBITT passed away on 14 August 2017 in Johannesburg.
GLEN KALIL passed away on 26 Oct 2017 in Cape Town.
ADRIENNE BAYNHAM (nee FREW) passed away in December 2017 after a long illness.
ROD GILES ( one of the THS "pioneer" pupils) passed away unexpectedly due to cardiac arrest on 10 December 2017 in Canberra, Australia.
KEVIN LAW (Lurch) passed away on 25 December 2017 in Redditch, Worcestershire after a long illness. He was at Thornhill from 1974-1980.
RUTH WOLFFE passed away in December 2017 after a battle with cancer.
ETHEL DIMSTER (Head Girl in 1986) passed away on 29 December 2017.
ATTIE ("Monk") BOTHA (THS 1960 - 64) passed away on 3 February 2018 in South Africa.
GEOFF DAY (pioneer member of staff) passed away in Milton Keynes, UK, on 23 April 2018 in his 97th year.
BONZO MILLER passed away on 2 May 2018 after a brave fight with cancer.
COURTNEY FERGUSON (pupil in 1959 and 1960) passed away on 12 June 2018 in Harare of multiple organ failure.
JUDY (nee Beattie) van AARDT passed away on 12 July 2018 after a long struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.
BRIAN E. SHIRLEY (a Thornhill 'pioneer' pupil) passed away on 19 September 2018 in Cape Town.
ROB THOMPSON (at Thornhill 1971 - 1974) passed away in November 2018.
YVONNE HART (member of staff) passed away in Howick, KZN, on 9 May 2019 aged 79.
FRANK URTON JACKSON (Woodwork teacher) passed away in Port Elizabeth on 25 June 2019 aged 96.
EM CHAMBERLAIN (Latin and History teacher) passed away on 16 July 2019 aged 88.
JAMES (Jim) WELSH (former pupil and member of staff) passed away on 15 July 2019 aged 67.
BRUCE DAVIDGE passed away on 10 September 2019 in Port Elizabeth.
GARY DREW passed away suddenly in October 2019 in Port Alfred.
RODNEY PALMER, ex Thornhill about 1960/61, brother to Geneva, Chris, Philip, Dianne and the late Lynette, Basil and David, passed away on 2 OCtober 2019.
HEATHER VAN DER RIET (nee ROBERTSON) passed away on 25 November 2019.
CHARLES JOHN SOUTHEY passed away peacefully on 9 December 2019.
SALLY (SWAINE) DANSE passed away on 28 Jan 2020 in Powys, Wales.
JEFF NEELY passed away on 29 May 2020 from multiple myeloma.
LULU (LE QUESNE) DORMER passed away on 21 June 2020 after a year-long battle with cancer.
PAUL DAVIDSON passed away in August 2020.
PETRUS BUYS passed away in September 2020 after a long illness.
WILLEM VAN SCHALKWYK passed away in September 2020.
ANNE (MILLWARD) ARNOLD passed away in Australia on 20 October 2020 after a long illness.
INA (WENTZEL) ABERDEIN passed away in South Africa on 26 October 2020.
LYN ('Chinky')(BIRCH) FOX passed away in the UK in November 2020, from Covid.
SUE (DONALDSON) VORSTER passed away in South Africa in December 2020.
IAN STEFFEN (pupil in the 1960s) passed away in Durban on 4 January 2021, from Covid.
DAVE SCULLY passed away in March 2021.
BILL ROBB (Head Boy 1969 and 1970) passed away in Scotland on 28 April 2021 after a battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
HESTER LOURENS (Murray), who was at Thornhill in the 1962 era, passed away in May 2021.
ROB DEMPSTER passed away from lung cancer on 4 May 2021 in Thailand. He was a boarder at Thornhill between 1969 and 1972.
WARWICK DAVIS (former member of staff) passed away on 5 July 2021 in UK from Cancer. He taught tech drawing at THS in 1975.
WENDY (WEDLAKE) SMITH passed away on 18 August 2021 in South Africa from Covid-19.
DARRYN COLYN passed away in August 2021 from Covid.
TIM WADE passed away on 15 September 2021 from brain cancer.
DAVID CORNISH died on the 12th September 2021 in Scottburgh, South Africa.
MICHAEL BRNJAC passed away in September 2021.
ALLAN DRUMMOND GORDON (one of Thornhill's 'pioneer pupils') passed away peacefully at home in St Andrews, Scotland, on 7 October 2021.
RAY PARKIN (THS 74-77) passed away in Bristol UK on 22 October 2021.
LANCE van EEDEN passed away in Cape Town in November 2021.
CLARE (van JARSVELDT) THORNTON passed away in Gweru in December 2021.
GIDEON BENADE (Head Boy 1965) passed away in Zimbabwe in December 2021.
KATHY MORAINE passed away in 2021 after suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for many years.
DEREK NEASHAM passed away in January 2022.
DEBBIE LIGHT JENKINS passed away suddenly on 14 February 2022.
WILLIAM (Billy) DODGEN passed away in South Africa on 15 February 2022, after a long and painful illness. He was at Thornhill in the early to mid-60s.
KAY (JACKETT) PLUKE (former teacher) passed away in March 2022 in England, from cancer.
DONALD HILL (JODY WAYNE) passed away on 14 March 2022 in South Africa. He was at Thornhill in the 1960s and became a very well-known singer.
PATRICIA WARRINGTON died peacefully in March 2022, after suffering a stroke.
DERRIS VILJOEN (former teacher) passed away in Harare, Zimababwe, on 25 June 2022. She began her long association with THS in 1957 as Miss Bowyer.
MICHAEL NEAL (former Maths teacher and hockey coach) passed away on 12 September 2022. He began his teaching career at Thornhill in 1969.
NEVILLE FROMBURG passed away from cancer in Brisbane, Australia, on 13 September 2022.
RUPERT HATT passed away with cancer on 16 September 2022 in Peterborough, UK.
CLIVE MELTON passed away in October 2022 after suffering a sudden heart attack.
JOE HARBINSON passed away on 30 October 2022 in Northern Ireland.
WENDY MURRAY DYER passed away on 3 December 2022 from complications following an operation. She was at Thornhill from 1971-1975.
DENNIS MORAINE passed away in South Africa in 2022.
BUCKY ROWLANDS, one of Thornhill's "pioneer" pupils, passed away on 10 January 2023.
BRIAN McELROY (THS 1958 - 63), elder brother of Maureen and Sean, passed away in the UK on 18 January 2023.
COLLEEN (van BREDA) FUTTER passed away in the UK on 19 March 2023 after a long illness.
MICHAEL NESBITT passed away in Perth, Australia, in May 2023 after a battle with cancer.
BRUCE PATERSON passed away in Krugersdorp, South Africa, on 4 June 2023.
DEBRA LOUISE (COETZEE) CAMPHER passed away on 25 June 2023. She was at Thornhill from 1976-1979.
LOUIS NORMAN THERON (THS 1961-1965) died from complications leading to heart failure on 21 July 2023 in Benoni.
FIONA (COLLINS) KEYS passed away unexpectedly on 29 July 2023.
BRIAN HAYES (THS 61-65) passed away on 7 September 2023 after a short illness. Husband of Maureen (McElroy), brother of Ralph Hayes and the late Murelle Hayes and Sharon Gregson-Alcott.
CHRIS PALMER (at Thornhill in the 60s) passed away on 21 October 2023. Brother of Phil Palmer, Di Baldwin, and the late Geneva Kiley (Chaplin School), Lyn Finegan, Basil, Rodney and David Palmer.
ALISTAIR (Jack) FROST (former Geography teacher and rugby coach) passed away on 11 November 2023.
PATRICK COGILL passed away on 31 December 2023 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
MARK PENBERTHY (THS 1965 -1969) passed away on 22 January 2024.
ERROL COCHRANE passed away in March 2024 in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
SALLY (SPENCER) GRACA passed away on 1 April 2024, following a stroke.
PHILIP MALAN (THS 1959 - 1963) passed away from cancer in May 2024. Brother of Frans and twin of Rina.
ALISON GRIFFITHS (THS late 1960s) passed away suddenly on 17 May 2024 in Benoni. Sister of Kim.
FIONA (DEWAR) NUTTALL-SMITH passed away on 20 May 2024.
TRACEY SWIFT passed away on 24 May 2024 in Pietermaritzburg hospital.
HENDRIK PETRUS ("CLUTZ") CLOETE passed away from heart failure on 1 June 2024.
RONALD BERRY (THS 1966-1970) passed away in Melbourne on 23 August 2024. Brother of David and Sue.
SOLOMON M. MAZVAZVA (Thornhill High School Headmaster) passed away on 13 September 2024 after a short illness.
ANNA (BAKKES) VAN DRUTEN passed away in Harare on 5 December 2024.