The Ridge Foothill residents’ Scrabble game leads to second chance at love

It’s never too late to fall in love.

That’s what we’re learning from 80-year-olds Leo Ludwick and Alan Kepka. Alan moved to The Ridge Senior Living Home in Salt Lake 6 years ago with his wife at the time. Shortly after they moved in, she died of Alzheimer’s. Leo moved to The Ridge a year and a half ago. She was married and divorced at a young age and has been single the majority of her life.

Earlier this year, Alan and Leo met at a happy hour at The Ridge. He asked me to have dinner afterward, so we got to know each other,” Leo said.

Leo and Alan started dating a few months ago. “We would just go across the room to the other table and sit down to get food that comes out of the kitchen,” Leo said. “It wasn’t a real date going anywhere, it was walking across the room!” Together, they go on dinner dates to the cafeteria, take walks around the complex, play Scrabble, and make each other laugh. “Both of us try to lift the spirits of each other,” Alan said.

Now, they’re signing up for a lifetime of laughter. On September 3rd, Alan and Leo tied the knot at The Ridge – a senior wedding at a senior living home. “I didn’t expect it. It just happened,” Alan said. “We get along so well and we’re company to each other. Why live by yourself if you could have a friend living with you?”Alan and Leo moved in together at the Ridge. They say they plan to keep going to happy hour together for a long time.

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