ROBERT JOEL GOOT, Four Generations of Shoes
“This cobbler does not work with gold, silver or any gem. Yet he sees his shoes as precious, yes, each one of them.” Such begins the poem, “The Cobbler,” by Aasai Theeppori.
For Bob Goot, “cobbler” wasn’t his first choice of words to describe what he, his father, his grandfather and his great grandfather before him did for a living. Shoemaking to him was more than just making shoes. It was about designing shoes and building the market. He began working alongside his father at age 12, and turned it into an innovative career.
Taking what he had learned in the corporate shoe industry, Bob entered into an entirely new realm of work upon retirement, as a volunteer consultant for SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). Here he helped small businesses around the world find their way; Or, as was more often the case, convinced them not to pursue that new business based on inadequate business plans. He was extremely good at what he did.
Nothing meant more to Bob than his family. He lived his life believing that each of us has a responsibility to one another to help those less fortunate. He was fond of saying, “When I put my head down on the pillow at night, I feel pretty good about how I’ve lived my life and how I’ve helped others.”
Robert Goot, 80, died recently from a long battle with cancer. Just before his death, he sat down and wrote letters to his daughters and friends, saying all the things he might not have said before. That final effort was the stuff books are made of. When his final day came, Bob Goot was as ready as any man could be to meet his maker.
Born in Chicago on April 1, 1935, Bob was the younger of two boys. His parents were Ann (Horowitz) and Jack Goot. His parents were second-generation Americans – his father’s family hailed from Poland; his mother’s from Russia.
Bob attended the University of Illinois, receiving a degree in sales and advertising. After that, he served in the U.S. Army as an artillery officer (1956-57), at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
His first job out of college was at Rose Marie Reid Swimwear, where he worked for nine years. Rose Marie Reid was a Canadian Olympic athlete who started a swimwear company in the early 1950s. “It was a real privilege to be part of that small sales force and help build the company into the fashion leader it became,” said Bob.
Following his experience with Rose Marie Reid Swimwear, Bob moved his family to Arizona. His family owned a shoe store in Phoenix, but he had other dreams. “I wanted to build a shoe company and take advantage of the rapid growth in the southwest,” he said. Bob created Arizona Shoe Corporation, where he worked for 25 years before retiring.
“Shoes just seemed to be a part of life,” recalled Bob. “Shoes were always a part of our family, one way or another, so it seemed natural for me to have an interest in that. I wanted to be a journalist, but that didn’t pay very well,” he laughed.
Bob Goot’s humble beginnings in Arizona grew into 34 stores, with locations in Phoenix, Tucson and Denver, Colorado. He created groundbreaking multi-impact companies during that time period.
His concept was to approach landlords of new, regional centers and negotiate up to five different leases and locations in each center. Every store would have a different name, product mix, etc. This provided landlords with the bankable illusion of an array of different stores, and created less expensive leases for the retailer.
During that time, Bob was president or board member of numerous mall associations and president of six Merchant Association shopping centers. He was an active member of Shoe Associates, which included many of the largest independent shoe chains in the country – such as Nordstrom’s and Altier’s. He also served as president of a pre-school synagogue school in Phoenix, and served on synagogue boards.
Growth and success led to a buyout of Arizona Shoe from a U.K. public corporation in the late 1980s. Soon after, he served eight years advising start-up businesses through SCORE. “We would mentor people who had ideas and wanted to open a business,” he said.
During the fall of the Soviet Union, the international arm of SCORE was chosen to evaluate the shoe inventory in Bulgaria by the U.S. government. This was in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union. The Bulgarians had enormous shoe factories, but had previously only made military boots for the USSR for more than 50 years.
After the collapse, they had the factories and the people who wanted to work, but they didn’t know what to make. Bob’s job was to evaluate the shoe industry in Bulgaria. He and his wife Edry spent six weeks visiting shoe companies there, exploring capabilities and evaluating how they would interface with international needs.
He helped them understand how best to compete in the world market. They didn’t have the finesse to make the types of shoes being sold at that period of time, however, Bob steered them into making components of shoes, rather than shoes themselves. He lived to see that industry be reborn, and watched as several of those he had helped go on to find great success in a modern shoemaking market.
Ironically, Bob always felt the real gratification in consulting for SCORE wasn’t only the people who succeeded, but the ones who were saved from a financial fiasco.
Bob Goot began coming to Coronado 30 years ago. He and Edry moved here in 2003 and have called Coronado their home since.
In the end, Bob reflected on his life. “I think people have always felt a certain comfort and warmth about me. They have always felt they could be open with me. And I’m always extremely open with them.
“I accept that I’ve lost my battle with lung cancer. I’ve kept my family and friends very much in the open about this. I didn’t want anyone feeling they couldn’t talk to me about it. I think having it be an open discussion, as opposed to an open secret, has helped prepare them for what happens next.”
After battling cancer for two years, Bob made the decision to go off all treatment. During those remaining months, he used his time wisely. “There is now a certain serenity that surrounds me knowing that life’s time-card has been punched and completed,” he wrote to close friends.
“For my family there is comfort knowing that I have done the chemo, the radiation and the trial drugs. The time remaining provides the opportunity to enjoy every moment, to reflect on the wonderful friends and family that have been a part of my being.”
Bob’s moving letter to friends ended with a quote from the 1st century philosopher Seneca: “As it is with a play, so it is with life – what matters is not how long the acting lasts but how good it is. Stop life wherever you will – only make sure that you round it off with a good ending.”
Bob rounded out his life with a very good ending; motivated by love of family, and the self-assurance he had lived a good and strong life.
Bob Goot is survived by his wife Edry of Coronado, daughters Marcy, Caryn and Julie (husband Coco), granddaughter Noa, and a sister, Ilene.
Private services were held for the immediate family and Bob’s ashes were scattered at sea. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Guide Dogs of the Desert, P.O. Box 1692, Palm Springs, CA 92263 (www.gddca.org), or Planned Parenthood – organizations Bob and Edry supported in life.
