OLIVIA -- Gordon Ruebel, a lifelong bachelor farmer from Olivia, had few friends and rarely socialized.
About a week after his death on March 25, the RC Hospital Foundation of Renville County and Renville County Hospice received an unexpected piece of news: Ruebel, 71, had left them his entire estate -- a sum worth as much as $2 million.
"A complete surprise" is how Glenn Haugo, chief executive of RC Hospital and Clinics, describes it.
"It's really, really a wonderful gift," said Gail Wenner, director of Renville County Hospice and a member of the RC Hospital Foundation board of directors.
It's not known what prompted Ruebel to leave all his farmland and belongings to the health care foundation and hospice program.
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Relatives said he was a retiring person who nevertheless led a rich life devoted to reading, cooking, gardening and intellectual pursuits.
"He was a recluse. He pretty much kept to himself all his life. He had very few acquaintances and probably no friends," said his nephew, Bob Ruebel, of Olivia.
Except for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army during the mid-1950s, Gordon Ruebel spent nearly all his life farming in the Olivia area. He owned few possessions -- his only three books were a Bible, a dictionary and a bird-watching guide -- but he "had everything he wanted," Bob Ruebel said.
One of seven children, he was "the smart one in the family," his nephew said. "He was an extremely brilliant man, very well read. ... He could have taught at any university in the world."
Gordon Ruebel read extensively and held library cards at three local public libraries, Bob Ruebel said.
One of his passions was for European history. He also cultivated a large vocabulary and was an excellent cook.
"He was a master wordsmith when you could get him to talk," his nephew said. "He ate like a king and read his books and enjoyed the flowers in his house and the trees and shrubs in his grove. I think he was very happy and content doing what he did. ... He was just a tremendously decent American. He was a man of integrity. He was a thoughtful and honest good guy."
Rarely sick, he likely never saw a doctor in his life -- except during his military service -- until he died unexpectedly of a heart attack March 25 in his farmhouse, Bob Ruebel said.
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Renville County hospital officials are still a little stunned by his gift.
"It's such a surprising thing and such a generous, selfless gift," Haugo said. "As you might expect, it was just overwhelming -- just such a great gift from this gentleman who had lived here all his life."
"The more we think about it as a family, the more amazed we are," Bob Ruebel said. "It's very unexpected but not surprising. It's a truly generous way to utilize one's estate for the benefit of others."
Ruebel left no stipulations on how the money should be spent, other than that he wanted it divided between the health foundation and the hospice program.
It will take up to 18 months for the estate to be settled, Haugo said.
Hospital and foundation officials don't know yet what they'll do with Ruebel's legacy.
"It's too soon to even think about that," Wenner said. "We just have no idea. We'll approach it very carefully and very thoughtfully. We want to be good stewards of that gift. We want to be sure we spend it in the way he intended it to be spent."
Local needs will likely be among the greatest priorities, Haugo said.
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"Everybody knows about the strains on health care. This will certainly help," he said. "The health care facilities that will be around in the future are the ones that take care of themselves."
Ruebel's relatives hope the money will be placed in an endowment for helping individual patients.
"That is our one hope and our wish," Bob Ruebel said. "The greatest way to recognize him is to use the gift very judiciously and wisely. I think that would be the greatest legacy. He obviously is going to make a huge difference, and it's going to stay local in our county."
