Nathan Gellhaus
In Aberdeen, the Gellhaus family has a rich history of advocating and servicing members of the community. Nathan Gellhaus comes from a long line of attorneys and three generations of caregivers. Growing up with this legacy, Nathan was drawn to the allure of anonymity, a departure from the tight-knit community typical of small-town life. This longing for anonymity led him to venture beyond Aberdeen, eventually landing him in Nebraska, where he pursued higher education at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln and earned a degree in English and a minor in philosophy. After completing his studies, Nathan taught English for about a year in Mexico City and began working in finance, where he wholesaled variable annuities; this role in financing took him across the country, moving from Los Angeles, California to Austin, Texas. Eventually, in 2010, he moved back to Aberdeen, not only to acquire the family business, Angelhaus but also to embrace the intimate connections that drew him back to his hometown.
The Angelhaus legacy traces its roots back to Nathan's grandmother, Marilyn Gellhaus. After a visit to her brother and his wife in Idaho, she was enamored by their living situation: her brother and his wife lived on the second floor, while on the main floor, they cared for elderly individuals. This unique arrangement sparked Marilyn's determination to create a similar care facility, igniting the vision that would eventually become Angelhaus. At the age of 62, she was determined to start this care facility structure, and with assistance from her husband, Ken, and her sons, she started the Gellhaus Care House on 13th Ave. Her family lived in one half of it, and the other half contained six rooms where they took care of elders, making it the first-ever Angelhaus care center.
Nathan credits the foundation of the family business to his grandmother, but he credits the vision of the current Angelhaus care system to his Uncle Dennis, who, after returning to Aberdeen and starting the Gellhaus CareHaus II, realized a gap between residential care and skilled care. At the Memorial Golf Tournament of his brother Gary, he met Clara Nolz, who at the time was the Director of Nursing at Prairie Heights. He was able to share this vision for Angelhaus with her, and they created what it is today, a place that provides both assisted living and memory care, ensuring sufficient care to last residents for the rest of their lives, rivaling most nursing home care. When Nathan moved to Aberdeen in 2010, he was prepared to take on the responsibility of being Angelhaus’ third-generation caregiver. He operated it for seven years in Aberdeen before expanding to four more locations: three in Yankton offering senior living, memory care, and behavioral health living, and one in Huron offering behavioral health living.
After expanding to not just aging care but also senior living and care across all demographics, Nathan is very focused on maintaining Angelhaus' high quality of care and affordability. He discusses how the coronavirus impacted the assisted living industry, from the rise in the cost of labor of CNA’s and nurses, to the scarcity of healthcare personnel, and the inflated cost of running a business due to these changes in the climate of the healthcare industry. Despite these changes and uncertainty, Nathan is proud to be a third-generation caregiver, and he will work tirelessly to maintain the standard and improve the quality of living for the residents.
WRITTEN BY: NKEMDILIM CHIBUKO
