Bulletin

It is with deep sadness that the Union community bids farewell to one of its most loyal and beloved stalwarts, 𝗠𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲 – 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘚𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘳𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘯 – who passed away this past weekend after a short illness.

Ms Fourie’s journey with Union began in 1996, when she joined Arthur Kingwill House as matron.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

In 2000, she moved to Herby Arnott House, where her warmth and quiet strength touched countless lives. When the hostels later amalgamated, she returned to Arthur Kingwill House, where she continued to serve with unwavering dedication until her retirement in 2024.

Those who worked alongside Ms Fourie describe her as the embodiment of loyalty, hard work and trustworthiness.

She was someone who never watched the clock – 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸. Whether it was preparing for hostel suppers, assisting at marking centres, supporting sport festivals or catering for reunions, Ms Fourie gave her all, with a smile and a steadfast spirit.

𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿. Her strong yet gentle leadership style fostered harmony among staff and she shared an especially close bond with the kitchen team, with whom she spent countless busy evenings ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Her colleague and dear friend, Mrs Martie Sullivan, who worked alongside her for 25 years in the Union Schools’ boarding houses, shared heartfelt words: “𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

Ms Fourie’s passing leaves a profound void in the Union family, but her legacy of service, strength and kindness will live on in the many lives she touched. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 – not only for her years of dedicated service, but for the heart and humanity she brought to all she did.

𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘔𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺. 

It is no secret that the time is drawing near for the Union Schools to bid farewell to two of its most cherished figures – 𝗠𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹.

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺.

Their presence has become woven into the very fabric of Union’s story – a story marked by care, steadfastness and a quiet, enduring passion for the school and all it represents.

𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆, the Kingwill siblings have presented a remarkable gift to the school – a large yellow frame, reminiscent of the iconic “yellow tourism frames” that can be found at treasured landmarks across South Africa.

This special frame, 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗳𝗳-𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘂 𝗞𝗼𝗽, stands as a tribute to their parents’ lifelong service and deep-rooted love for the Union Schools.

It invites all who pass through our gates to pause, reflect and capture a moment within the same landscape that shaped generations of learners – 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘳𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦.

As we look toward their retirement with both gratitude and heartbreak, this frame will serve as a symbol of the enduring impact they leave behind – 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.