BIDDEFORD — Kathy Duke helped make the hunger go away. She was a dispenser of hugs, a friend, a mentor and a woman determined to do her best for the disenfranchised.

Duke, who will always be remembered for her passion for feeding the hungry as co-director at Stone Soup Food Pantry on Main Street, died Tuesday of cancer. She was 73.

Jodi Bissonnette, director of York County Food Rescue, a program of Stone Soup Food Pantry, called Duke someone who always thought of others before herself.

Bissonnette said Duke was like a mother and a mentor to her, and helped her through some difficult times ”“ as she helped many.

“She was an angel,” said Bissonnette. “She has always, always been there for people.”

The Dukes ”“ Kathy and her husband, Bill ”“ raised many children, their own and more than a dozen foster children. Bissonnette said one of Duke’s children told her they never knew when they came home from school whether there would be another child who had joined the family.

Duke became involved with Stone Soup Food Pantry a dozen years ago, first filling in for a volunteer, but soon thereafter, she became fully immersed in helping feed people.

In an interview a year ago, she said the numbers of hungry people continues to rise.

“We’re getting so many people … from all walks of life,” said Duke in a February 2013 interview, during a week when demand was so great that the pantry ran out of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Helen Lewis, co-director at Stone Soup Food Pantry, said Duke was a passionate powerhouse when it came to approaching folks for funds to help keep the pantry going.

Stone Soup Food Pantry began in the mid-1990s on Bacon Street, but moved after the church where it was located closed. Its present location is at 180 Main St., and the pantry relies heavily on fundraising and food drives to help fill the shelves.

Duke, said Lewis, canvassed Biddeford and Saco industrial parks, asking the businesses there to help feed the hungry, and they did. Some, said Lewis, still mail checks to the pantry regularly.

“It was her heart’s desire to keep Stone Soup open,” said Lewis.

“She was a tireless supporter of the poor and the hungry,” said Mayor Alan Casavant. “Her passing leaves a huge void. She’ll be deeply missed.”

The food pantry, which will remain in operation under Lewis and Bissonnette, released a statement that spoke to Duke’s loving and caring manner.

“The people she touched in south western coastal Maine are far better for all the intercessions she made on their behalf. And, with her Irish gift of gab, she changed this organization from a small, bread-based pantry into the all types of food/clothing/furniture and community resource center it has become. In our hearts, we know that Kathy has gone on to a much better place and is proudly reaping the rewards which God has intended for her,” the statement said, in part.

“I called her Biddeford’s guardian angel,” said former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey. “She was just wonderful.”

Twomey said Duke was very determined, especially when advocating for the pantry.

“She wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said Twomey. “That’s what I loved about her.”

Patrons of the pantry will not only miss someone who fed and clothed them, but they’re going to miss a friend, Twomey said.

“She never judged anyone,” she said. “She never looked down on anyone.”

Twomey said even as her last days drew near, Duke spoke about the needs of the food pantry.

Bissonnette agreed.

“It was on her mind,” she said.

“Her heart was in it. It was always about the pantry,” said Lewis, who, like others, said she’ll miss her friend. “She was very endearing. She was the woman that loved everybody. She hugged everybody.”

“She never, never stopped,” said Twomey. “I’m a better person for knowing her.”’

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com. Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.