The food took over the upstairs of the Dashers’ Kelso home. There were canned goods and cereals, Hamburger Helper and noodles and soups. It was packed in boxes and stacked everywhere.

The idea had come to Richard Dasher in the mid-90s, after he had his second heart attack. He wanted to do something useful. And so he told his wife, Mary, “I think we need to start a food ministry.”

The Dashers had been attending the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Cathlamet. Even though they lived in Kelso, they liked the smaller, more intimate church, Mary said.

“We just fit,” she said. “Like a glove.”

Before long, the church’s congregation was getting in on the game. The food was moved to the church’s basement and, over 15 years, the ministry began securing federal grants and expanding.

Dasher’s ministry, called The Helping Hand, started offering Christmas presents to the poor as well as clothing, nutrition classes and school supplies for children. “It just goes on,” Mary said last week. “We were really blessed.”

The ministry has grown to serve 120 people each month, and it has helped roughly 24 percent of the population of Wahkiakum County, said Ben Moor, the pastor at Cathlamet’s Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Dasher died Sept. 27. He was 70.

Dasher, a former Daily News ad salesman, had a relaxed demeanor, those close to him said. He was the father of six children of a blended family. Mary called him the home’s peacemaker.

And yet, he was driven. He had a passion for his ministry and “he liked getting things done,” Moor said.

“He was a very motivated person to help others,” he said. “His style was laid-back, but his drive was choleric, very driven.”

Dasher was born April 11, 1939, in Longview and attended R.A. Long High School, where he played football and wrestled. After graduating, he worked at Weyerhaeuser Co. until he injured his back. He studied accounting at Portland State University, but he never used the degree, his wife said, because he liked working with people.

In 1978, Dasher came to work at The Daily News and was an advertising sales representative until he retired.

He married his first wife in 1957. They divorced and he married Mary Beckstrom in 1975.

Dasher, Moor said, enjoyed discussing the big questions of the universe. He was a lover of Christian theology and would often talk with the people around him — including his doctor — about “concepts of salvation, the reason why Christ had to die and the purpose of grace and the role of sanctification of the life of the Christian,” Moor said. “He really had a grasp of the subject.”

He filled in for Seventh Day Adventist pastors, giving sermons at churches throughout Oregon and Washington.

Dasher also enjoyed camping and fishing. He loved flying, carving wood — he made ornate walking sticks — and flying kites. The couple volunteered at the Washington State International Kite festival in Long Beach.

Dasher is survived by his wife, Mary; a brother, Jim Dasher of Salem; six children, Debbie Blum of Seaside, Ernie Dasher of Longview, Rhonda Dasher of Omak, Wash., Rick Dasher of Kelso, Cori Musick of Castle Rock and Megan Neves of Kelso; 17 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Donations in Dasher’s memory can be made to The Helping Hand, P.O. Box 507, Winlock, WA 98596.