After the 98-year-old Leo Kellner from Hastings, Nebraska lost his wife a couple of years ago due to struggles with dementia, Leo didn’t know what to do with himself. Leo decided to turn to baking to cope with the loss of his loving wife Madelon after 72 years of happy marriage. The man rediscovered a passion and talent for baking and helping people in need. In 2013, Leo baked a whopping 144 apple pies. The next year, the man started baking cakes as well.
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Source: NTV News
“After I lost my wife I didn’t know what to do. So I said, ‘Well I can bake,’ so I started baking,” Leo said in an interview with NTV News Nebraska. “Everything I do, I do it with love. That’s my secret ingredient is love.”
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Source: NTV News
Leo bakes in honor of his wife and to honor the legacy of his mother. His mother learned him how to cook and to bake, and Leo sees this as his way of giving back to the community.
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Source: NTV News
Leo immediately knew what to do with all the pies he’d baked. The man reached out to many different organizations that were helping people in need. He said he wanted to connect with families that were going through tough financial times, and he also got in touch with funeral homes in the area. The man didn’t just bake pies and cakes, he listened to the stories of many different families and connected with them. He even takes special requests, as people with allergies are being taken care of.
“Everybody’s my favorite — I love everybody,” he said to TODAY. “People that gave me a rough time when things were going hard for me, and I still love them. I’ve since made them cakes and pies. I hold no grudge.”
The man has made hundreds of cakes and thanks to his baking endeavors, he befriended people from all over.
“I’ve got friends from all over,” he said. “I’ve gotten thank-you cards from Alaska, where they’ve attended a funeral for which I’ve furnished a cake.”
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Source: Joe Kellner, TODAY
Aside from baking the cakes himself, Leo also attends community gatherings (with some cake, of course) and even taught some of the local children his cooking skills so they can spread some delicious love as well.
“I do it for everybody, that’s just the way I am,” Leo humbly said. “I try to be happy. I place nobody above me, I place nobody below me. I like everybody and I’ve never held a grudge.”
