Arthur Noot, caring social services leader

Arthur E. Noot grew up in St. Paul and spent most of his life in social services helping the poor and disadvantaged, eventually serving as state welfare commissioner under Gov. Al Quie.

Noot, 77, died from cancer complications in a Stillwater hospice on June 6. He served during Quie's four-year term, leaving office in 1983.

Even in years of drastic state budget years, Noot fought to protect programs for the poor and mentally ill, Quie recalled. When budget cuts in the early 1980s forced Noot to tighten eligibility rules for state unemployment assistance, he was criticized by union leaders, according to newspaper reports from the time.

He handled the heat "like a person of character," Quie said. "He never whined. He told me with integrity what the problems were. But I never had reason to doubt anything that he told me. He was a stellar person."

Kevin Kenney, a deputy commissioner for Noot, said he and Noot drafted a bill that eventually passed to help pay for increased welfare grants and mental health programs. He said Noot supported the bill, but was impatient with the Legislature. "He simply couldn't deal with their indecisiveness," Kenney said.

Noot grew up during the Depression years and worked as a hospital ship corpsman during the Korean War. "He was very sympathetic toward the poor and worked very hard for people that were less fortunate," Kenney said.

Noot oversaw the "most drastic cuts in social welfare programs in Minnesota's history," noted a Minneapolis Star article in April 1981. Noot told the paper that the tight budget was caused by high inflation and a recession, not welfare clients, who accounted for only 14 percent of the department's spending. He added: "When people begin scapegoating welfare recipients for our budget problems, it's just plain unfair."

Noot and his wife retired to their cabin in Winter, Wis. His main hobby was collecting, researching and selling Greek, Roman and other ancient coins, his son said.

Quie said he chose Noot, who was then deputy welfare director for Ramsey County, for his administrative experience, honesty and knowledge of social services. "He understood what was happening in the community," Quie said. "He was easy to talk to. ... He never beat around the bush. I knew exactly where he stood."

Some years they made massive program cuts, including in welfare and mental health, to balance the budget, Quie said, but Noot didn't just cut all programs proportionately. "That doesn't work. You need wisdom and courage enough, and it comes back to values. He was fair, saying the ones who were hurting the most ought to be helped the most."