Celebrating the Life of Candice Herbst
Candice and LyleCandice Herbst was the Marketing & PR Manager at the DHS Foundation for 5 years (2014 to 2018) and during that time she met and dealt with many DHS Old Boys and Staff, all of whom came to love her.
Candice was a breath of fresh air and when she walked into a room you couldn’t help but notice her, she just lit it up. People were drawn to her … her bright, bubbly, outgoing personality, her beautiful smile, her incredible eyes, her wicked sense of humour and her infectious laugh that rang out all the time. But most of all people were drawn to her warm, kind and caring heart. She was beautiful both inside and out, no-one who ever meet her could ever forget her.
Candice’s passing from cancer after a year of courageously fighting this terrible disease is deeply tragic. She was only 44, with 2 young children, Brode 14 and Dayna 12, and a loving and supportive family. Her Fiancé, Old Boy Lyle Matthysen, was devoted her. Their love story moved so many people to tears, they adored each other and Lyle was beside her, so committed, caring for her and loving her, every step of the way through her dreadful journey. Our deepest sympathies to Lyle, her family and all who loved her. May God hold them tightly and give them the strength to deal with their pain.
Deo Fretus, Candice!
Celebrating the Life of Kaeden Thiagarajan
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of a fine young man, Kaeden Thiagarajan. Kaeden, a Matric pupil at DHS in 2022, was diagnosed with cancer in 2021. He was extremely brave and faced his health challenges head on. He was positive and showed great courage in his fight against cancer. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.
Kaeden joined DHS from Morningside Primary where he excelled in Academics and Sport. At his interview to join the school he impressed and enjoyed a successful career. He started out in the U14C Football team, he persevered and was selected for the U15A team the following year. In Grade 11 he represented the 3rd XI Cricket and was a member of the pre-season 1st XI Football squad. It was at this point that Kaeden was experiencing a great deal of pain in his back and was forced to give up his sport on being diagnosed with advanced Metastatic Ewings Sarcoma. Kaeden then focused on his academics. In his final year he showed great strength and determination. He pushed himself to attend class on the days his pain allowed, some days for three hours on others he had to leave sooner. He even managed to attend his Matric Dance.
On behalf of the DHS family we extend our deepest sympathies to his parents Shan and Preggie and sister Zoe. We cannot fully comprehend the pain and loss you feel, however, please take comfort from the very many school community members whose prayers and best wishes are with you at this difficult time.
