๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅโฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.
It is with deep sadness that we share news of the passing of ๐ ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ป – a much-loved member of the Union family, an educator of rare dedication and a gentleman whose quiet impact will be felt for generations to come.
An ๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ, Roryโs connection to Union was lifelong. From his own school days, through to attending his ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ, he remained closely bound to his classmates and to the spirit of the school he loved so dearly.
After studying geology at Rhodes University, Rory returned to education with purpose, later completing further studies in mathematics and teaching through UNISA. In ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ญ๐ต๐ด๐ต, he began his teaching journey at Union – one that would span over two decades and leave an indelible mark on countless young lives.
He went on to serve as ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ and during a pivotal time in the schoolโs history, stepped in to act as Headmaster, leading with steadiness and integrity until the appointment of Mr Pringle. He retired at the end of 2011.
Yet, beyond the titles and years of service, it is the ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ we remember most vividly.
Rory had a remarkable way of making the complex feel possible. In his classroom, ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ – not just as subjects, but as shared discoveries. He brought humour into the lab, patience into every explanation and a genuine care for each learnerโs journey. Stories shared on social media over the past week speak of a teacher who made time, who listened, who debated and who believed deeply in fairness and understanding -๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
Roryโs legacy is also woven through his family. Together with his wife Pam, they raised four children – Margot, Ted, Steve and Kathy – all of whom matriculated from Union, continuing a proud and enduring family connection to the school.
As we reflect on his life, we are reminded that the true measure of a teacher is not found only in results or accolades, but in the ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ. In this, Roryโs legacy is extraordinary.
To the Kroon family, we extend our heartfelt condolences and hold you close in our thoughts and prayers.
For those in Graaff-Reinet, an ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ will be held on ๐ง๐ต๐๐ฟ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐ญ:๐ฌ๐ฌ at the ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น, ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐, where friends are invited to gather, share stories and celebrate Roryโs life.
ย For those further afield, the family has created a space to share messages, memories and photos: ย https://forms.gle/X9kxAKKogg37C9Ah6
๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ, ๐๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ.
๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ – ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต.
