Remembering 2019 Inductee Reuben Bareis
The South Dakota Hall of Fame extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of 2019 Inductee Reuben Bareis, who passed away on April 30, 2025. A man of compassion, conviction, and quiet leadership, Reuben’s legacy of service to his community, his profession, and the state of South Dakota will be remembered and celebrated for years to come.
Born in Great Bend, Kansas, on February 29, 1928 (Leap Day), Reuben entered this world as a novelty. His parents, Rev. Reuben and Lydia Bareis, went on to provide a brother, Robert, 14 months later. Sadly, Lydia died suddenly when Reuben was only three. Reuben and his brother then lived with their paternal grandparents on a farm in Eastern Missouri. That time spent with grandparents led to BOTH Reuben and Robert developing a love for the elderly and their care, leading to their working as physicians and involvement with nursing homes. A stepmother, Caroline, and half-sister, Janet, later joined the Bareis family.
Seasonal allergies meant a move to Colorado, where Reuben worked in a grocery/meat market in high school during WWII years and earned a tuition-paid scholarship to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he won several honors and awards. During school, he worked culinary jobs to cover room and board. This hard work and perseverance paid off when he graduated from CU Medical School in Denver in 1952. There he met his future wife, Marloe Polson. After a year’s internship at Madigan Army Hospital near Tacoma and a year in Korea at a Battalion Aid Station, they were married on September 12, 1954.
Reuben continued his medical training in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan until 1957, when he was invited to join the Dawley-Kegaries Clinic in Rapid City, and so began his 62 years of South Dakota living.
Dr. Donald Kegaries suggested joining the local Rotary Club as a way of getting involved in the community. Since 1958, Reuben was actively involved with this organization and its outreach, including Storybook Island, and international visitation. Exchange programs with other Rotarians enriched the lives of all of the Bareis family, and many of those travelers remained in contact with Reuben.
After ten years with the Clinic, he, with Drs. Robert Johnson and Streeter Shining formed the Internal Medicine Group, which attracted much-needed sub-specialists to Rapid City. This clinic endured almost 30 years, surviving the flood of 1972. It later joined the University Physicians in 1995.
Reuben’s interest in nursing homes was piqued while visiting patients in Marie Sheldon’s Home—the only privately-operated nursing home in Rapid City in the 1950s. Over the next 25 years, he encouraged six more facilities to be opened, plus, after a prolonged struggle, Westhills Village (WHV), a continuing care facility, developed by a group of First Presbyterian Church (FPC) members. He became Medical Director of three of these facilities, and as a Clinical Professor of Medicine, he joined Dr. David Sandvik’s team to teach personnel working in the geriatric field.
Reuben was involved in numerous professional endeavors and associations. The local three hospitals, the Ft. Meade VA Hospital, the Rehabilitation Center, the SD Tuberculosis Clinic, alcohol recovery, and the BH Arthritis Association all benefited from Reuben’s expertise. Reuben shared his knowledge on Medical Ethics, Palliative Care, and other topics with medical personnel, medical students from the University of SD, and the general public. He supported the legalization of Durable Power of Attorney, Living Wills, and the Comfort One legislation.
During a three-month Bush Fellowship in the British Isles in 1987, Reuben was introduced to the hospice concept, visiting his first hospice house. He observed different practices in the areas of geriatrics and medical directorship.
Reuben was also president of the SD Society of Internal Medicine and the BH Medical Society, and Governor of the SD Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Reuben was involved with numerous religious and cultural organizations. A long-time member of FPC, he sang in the choir, became an Elder, and continued with Sunday School and Bible studies. He and Marloe were frequent supporters of the BH Playhouse (Reuben was an honorary Board member), local theater, music, and other artistic endeavors. Reuben sang in the Shrine of Democracy chorus and was a member of the Catalyst Club and Chamber of Commerce. He received the Good Neighbor Award in 1985. When retired and while caring for his wife, Marloe, he wrote or edited several books, including Compassionate Caregivers, a history of the local nursing home industry, which honored the caregivers working in the trenches.
At WHV, where he resided, he joined the Toastmasters Club, Writer’s Club, Caregivers’ Group, Village Voices, and Bible and Book Club. His beloved Marloe passed away in 2016.
Reuben Bareis leaves behind a profound legacy of medical excellence, community leadership, and compassionate care. He will be deeply missed. For visitation and memorial service information, click here.