It is with great, great sadness that we share with you the loss on Saturday of one of Abelard’s founders, Shai Maharaj, who passed away far too soon.
Abelard simply wouldn’t exist without Shai. He was our principal for many years, stepping courageously into that position when both he and the school were still in their infancy (he was in his late twenties!). He was a charismatic and remarkable teacher who had a profound love for his students, and they in return showered their adoration on him.
Shai was a colleague and extremely dear friend who lived with us through the professional and personal successes and crises of over twenty years at both Abelard and Thornton Hall, until he was sadly no longer able to continue to do so a few years ago. We were saddened by his loss from the school and our daily lives then, and are even more profoundly devastated now by this final, permanent departure.
Alumni, we extend our particular condolences to you, who were his students. We know how much Shai cared for you, what a mark he made on your development, and how proud he was of you and your myriad accomplishments after leaving Abelard.
Let all of us who knew him try to keep the many, many good things we learned from Mr. Maharaj active in our lives. May he himself rest peacefully.
The Abelard School 