• March 29, 2024

How 98-year-old devastated by wife’s death turns grief to labor of love

The death of a spouse can be totally devastating, especially for a marriage that lasted 72 years. But 98-year-old Leo Keller decided to work through his grief by doing something wonderfully good to honor his beloved Madelon, according to Shareably. He made up his mind to keep himself busy creating something special that combined his desire for eating with his desire to help the needy in his community.

So, the Hastings, Nebraska resident headed to the one place where he felt he could do the most good to get over his grief and that was the kitchen. Kellner started baking cakes and pies and boy did he bake a lot of pies. Keller told ABC-NTV, “After I lost my wife I didn’t know what to do so I said well I can bake, so I started baking.

The aged baker baked 144 apple pies in the first year alone and in the second year he added cakes to his menu. The wonderful part of Keller is how he has donated all of his baked goods to the sick, widows and even funeral receptions.

Kellner is heartened by the good will he is able to share. He commented, “To see the smile on their face. That’s worth all the money in the world. Nobody can buy that. That smile means so much to me,” reported ABC-NTV.

98-year-old turns grief to something very positive - photo credit - Shareably
98-year-old turns grief to something very positive – photo credit – Shareably

The widower learned his baking skills from his mom and indicated that he loved watching his mom bake when he was young. When his wife died, he knew that sitting around was never going to be an option for him. He stressed, “If I don’t do something every day I don’t feel right.”

He even has a special ingredient that he adds to every single baked good that he prepares. That special secret ingredient is love. One can be certain that his loving wife Madelon is looking down from Heaven smiling with approval.

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