Little Eden Says Goodbye to an Angel

by Admin · October 1, 2025

Matthew Turner, Little Eden’s longest-residing member, passed away September 26, 2025

By Ray White – The Little Eden Society has lost an angel. The Society’s longest residing member, Matthew Turner, passed away unexpectedly in the early hours of Friday 26 September at the Domitilla and Danny Hyams Home clinic in Edenvale after a short illness.

He was 52 and had resided his entire life at Little Eden, which caters for residents with profound intellectual disability. Matthew had been given to founders Domitilla and Danny Hyams as a newborn baby – at 5 days old. When he arrived, Little Eden did not yet provide 24-hour care and so he was taken in by the Hyams at their own home in Edenvale. He later moved to Little Eden where he resided. But Matthew had become a member of the Hyams’ family – for life.

He was brought up as one of the Hyams’ children and was taken under the wing of Domitilla and Danny – with the older children including Mary and Lucy, giving him special love and attention. Lucy recalls: “I called him my angel. He was never angry and played with the younger ones”. “He would dive-bomb into the pool and ride his bike”. Later Matthew would have his 21st birthday at Lucy’s house and enjoyed a life of love and attention. This included fishing with Lucy’s son, Paolo Slaviero, in George – catching a five-inch fish – and beaming with pride.

Lucy recalls, “most people would have exaggerated the size of the fish, but not Matthew. He was so proud of his catch!”.

Apart from this, he had many interests. Mary recalls: “Matthew loved country music and if he saw the police on the news, he would go and get his cap, saying he was going to become a policeman”.

But his interests became quite clear. He learned to knit and made a white scarf that was sent via Cardinal Wilfred Napier to Pope Francis.

Matthew was the first person with intellectual disability to be designated as an altar server at St Therese Parish in Edenvale – a role which he took very seriously and with much reverence. Mary says he received his first holy communion at the Hyam’s home in Edenvale where Mother Mary had appeared to Domitilla many years before.

Matthew lived his later years at the Elvira Rota Village in Bapsfontein and enriched the lives of the people with whom he came into contact – both locally and overseas. Granddaughter of the Hyams, Elvira Rohrbeck, also enjoyed a close relationship with Matthew, with many fond memories.

Mary says one of Matthew’s favourite activities was putting up the Christmas tree. “He loved putting up the tree with decorations – and I only put up the tree if he was coming over for the Christmas break”.

Messages of condolence have flowed in from far and wide. Lucy recounts: “After my dad passed away, Matthew placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned around and felt dad’s presence. Dad had shaped Matthew’s life. I called Matthew my angel, because that’s who he was”.