Thank you, Art DeCabooter.

Thank you for leaving a lasting legacy on Scottsdale; for casting your wisdom upon countless people during your tenure at Scottsdale Community College; and for bestowing your leadership upon so many civic organizations and groups.

Out of all the people who come and go from Scottsdale, it is rare to find someone who has an unmeasurable impact on the city.

And yet, that is who Dr. DeCabooter was.

Dr. DeCabooter was most well-known as the longtime president of Scottsdale Community College from 1978-08, in addition to serving many organizations including the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, Scottsdale Charros, McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission and more.

Dr. DeCabooter died on Oct. 9, after a 14-year fight against Parkinsons Disease. He was 78 years old.

A week after Dr. DeCabooter’s passing, Scottsdale Realtor and community member Gary Shapiro; Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Stanton; and Scottsdale Charros Executive Director Dennis Robbins gathered to talk about the leader.

As the bright morning Arizona sunlight poured through the windows of a second story building on a picture-perfect fall morning, the feeling inside the Chamber of Commerce boardroom was much more somber. While Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Stanton and Mr. Robbins each reminisced and remembered their friend and colleague, it was apparent the impact Dr. DeCabooter had on not only their personal lives, but the lives of others. All three men knew Dr. DeCabooter for the majority of their adult lives.

“The thing that stands out to me was his humility,” said Mr. Robbins. “He didn’t want any recognition of himself, but he wanted to make things happen in the community, and I think that’s what was so significant. He was able to do that without making it about him. He made it about what was the right target of the community? That was about the people and the issue of the day.”

A lasting community impact

In addition to his 30-year tenure as leader of SCC, Dr. DeCabooter’s resume includes:

• President of the Scottsdale Charros;
• President of the Scottsdale Rotary Club;
• President of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce;
• Chair of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission for 15 years; and
• One of the founders of Scottsdale Leadership.

Earlier this year, he was named an Arizona Historymaker by the Arizona Historical League.

In 2010, he was inducted into the SCC Hall of Fame. According to the school, Dr. DeCabooter nearly doubled SCC’s enrollment and the college became renowned for its educational and athletic excellence.

Additionally, he raised tens of thousands of dollars for student athlete scholarships and spearheaded the development of state-of-the-art athletic facilities. The Arthur W. DeCabooter Athletic Complex stands in recognition of his personal and professional dedication to SCC.

“There’s not enough to say about the impact Art’s had on the community, from my perspective, having known him over 20 years and seeing the work he’s done in so many circles, inclusive of but far beyond the Scottsdale chamber,” Mr. Stanton said.

“What I’ve seen and what I’ve learned about his impact from heading up and leading initiatives for the chamber, pioneering programs like the Preserve, and at the most fundamental what he’s done for Scottsdale Community College and what he’s done for education overall.”

Mr. Stanton says in his time of knowing the city leader, he witnessed a man of great thought and perspective, who was always looking for the best outcome.

“And, always with a great sense of humor,” Mr. Stanton recalled.

“I think from my personal engagement with Art over the years, there always was a ready smile, always a quick wit and always respectful. He had a good sense of propriety and how he managed his business and engaged with so many people --- I don’t know how he found the time to do all that he did. We’re very grateful for that.”

Dr. DeCabooter, according to his friends, was a highly intelligent person with an incredible sense of humor.

“His physically of course changed recently, but his sense of humor didn’t change,” Mr. Shapiro said.

When Mr. Shapiro arrived to the Chamber offices, he wheeled in an empty red and black wheel chair, which remained sitting next to three men during the conversation on Dr. DeCabooter.

“One reason I brought his wheelchair here this morning is I would like to think he’d still like to be a part of the meeting. And, then the sarcastic part of he and I, he’d want to hear what you had to say about him,” Mr. Shapiro said. “In an occasion like this where he has died, it’s like Hollywood, you want to come back and see what he had to say. So I’m dragging his chair around to a variety of places.”

A legacy

Although his health was declining, Dr. DeCabooter continued attendance to his civic meetings and events with the help of his friends.

On Oct. 1, he attended a 25th anniversary celebration of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve where he stood to be recognized, Mr. Robbins said.

“Even going to that 25th Preserve celebration, one of the speakers said that was his most lasting legacy --- what he really wanted to be known as was a preservationist --- you didn’t really know that, but that was a driving thing behind him,” Mr. Robbins said. “He made it happen. And, even in that video they talked about how he brought legitimacy to the issue. It really didn’t take hold in the community until Art got behind it. That was his power.”

In a 2014 narrative of the Preserve, honoring its then 20th anniversary, Scottsdale Historian Joan Fudala included a quote from Dr. DeCabooter:

“The preserve was not on the radar screen. There were so many other things happening in Scottsdale’s economic development and tourism [in the early 1990s]. It took some education to inform the community.” Dr. Art DeCabooter, then-president of Scottsdale Community College, former president of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, co-chair of Scottsdale Visioning and first chair of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission.

Mr. Robbins says no matter what group or organization he was serving, he always gave his full attention.

“He had that gravitas that not many people have. It was nice that someone like that never ran for public office, and never made a thing about him,” Mr. Robbins said.

“He did everything he could except holding that elected position --- I think he was far more effective in his role being president of a college. Every place he went he became the leader of that group for that time, whether it be the Charros or the Chamber or the Sonoran Preserve. He just rose up to the top really quickly, and then made the group, the organization, whatever issue it was better for it.”

Mr. Shapiro and Dr. DeCabooter are two of the four founding members of Scottsdale Leadership, and Dr. DeCabooter was named the first president of the organization. A couple of weeks ago, the two went to the first session of Scottsdale Leadership Class 34.

“He sat there and everyone came over to say hello and congratulate him,” Mr. Shapiro said. “You could tell how proud he was that over 1,000 people have gone through Scottsdale Leadership --- that’s part of his legacy.”

Dessert first, please!

Dr. DeCabooter was a natural leader, and even up until the end was teaching his friend of over 40 years, Mr. Shapiro, lessons.

Scottsdale’s premiere civic group, the Charros, host regular dinner meetings, and Mr. Shapiro will be bringing the now-vacant wheel chair to the next one.

“Depending on what they’re serving, I know what he likes to eat --- he didn’t like salad --- early on, if I dragged him to a meeting and I brought salad over, he’d look at me like I’d messed up. If he had his choice, he would have started with dessert,” Mr. Shapiro said.

Ray Herndon, the owner of Handlebar J’s restaurant, will be serving a special dessert for the Charros in honor of Dr. DeCabooter, Mr. Shapiro said.

“I loved going to the meetings, I looked forward to seeing Art,” Mr. Stanton said of the Charro meetings.

“Every meeting he was at brought a certain presence. I think that goes for a lot of the folks who have gone and spent a lot of time volunteering for the Charros. He continued, he would be represent, he would be there mixing with the different generations of Charro membership. Art, he was there for all of these different elements that we’ve described --- and so many more --- but it wasn’t a flash in the pan. He was consistently engaged and believed in those things.”

The men agreed, Dr. DeCabooter will be missed on the 2019 annual Charro Ride, taking place next week.

“We lost a champion, but we also lost a friend,” Mr. Stanton said.

Dr. DeCabooter has been married to his wife, Mary, for nearly 50 years. The two had three children together.

On Nov. 23, Xavier College Preparatory is expected to host a celebration of life for Dr. DeCabooter.

Lucky to have him

Overall, Scottsdale would not be the city it is today without Dr. DeCabooter.

“I don’t know a place where he invested his time and his talent that didn’t make a difference,” Mr. Stanton said.

“Knowing him for 20-25 years, watching him do it, and do it with humility and impact and so many different corners of philanthropy, preservation, economic development, education --- I don’t want to think about how we would have been without him.”

Mr. Stanton says of all his accolades, he didn’t wear any of it as a badge of honor.

“It would have been a lot bumpier,” Mr. Robbins said of a city without Dr. DeCabooter.

“He made things more effortless, he was the grease for wheels of all kinds of issues and ideas. If he wasn’t there, it would have been a lot more difficult and not as fun.”

However, Mr. Shapiro summed it up the best:

“It’s not a question of what we would be if not for him, it’s a question of how lucky we were to have him here,” he said.