Richard Noyes, a former state legislator and publisher of The Salem Observer who died recently, is being fondly remembered for his intelligence, pleasant demeanor and service to the Salem community by several people who used to work with him.

“I think he was a very personable gentleman,” said State Rep. Mary Griffin, R-Windham, who served with him in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. “He really was a gentleman and everybody liked him.”

Noyes was 85 when he died Friday, May 15, at Andover Manor in Andover, Mass.

He grew up in Peterborough and graduated from Peterborough High School as salutatorian in 1940. He served in the U.S. Army as a naval aviator and plane commander flying in the Pacific Theater during World War II, according to his obituary.

Noyes had been editor and publisher of the Monadnock Ledger newspaper, which grew into a chain of six weekly newspapers between 1956 and 1969 while he served at the helm, according to the newspaper’s Web site.

He was the editor and publisher of the Observer for 35 years. He purchased the newspaper from its founder, Robert Phinney.

“He was a very good man,” said Elsie Talanian, the paper’s retired social editor and columnist, of Noyes. “He was very smart, very knowledgeable about the workings of a newspaper. He was easy to work for as long as you fulfilled what he expected you to do.”

Arthur Mueller, who worked for Noyes and eventually purchased the paper from him, said Noyes had a philosophy about printing a weekly community newspaper: While daily newspapers provided the headlines, it was the job of the weekly to fill in the details.

“He used to say you were not doing your job until at least 50 percent of the people loved you and 50 percent of the people hated you,” said Mueller.

When Noyes was publisher, Mueller recalled, presidential candidates would come to the newspaper’s office to be interviewed. Some would come with large entourages. Some had Secret Service protection. Former Texas Gov. John Connally and Colorado Sen. Gary Hart were among the visitors.

Former long-time production employee Gail Stratos, who joined the paper in 1982, learned basic layout skills from Noyes.

“He was a humble, sweet guy,” recalled Stratos, whose husband, Danny, had also worked at the paper. “He was always willing to share his knowledge. He taught me about the business, what’s a good news story.”

Noyes was a member of VFW Post 8546 of Salem, a member and past president of the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce, was a recipient of the Chamber’s Bill Brown Businessperson of the Year Award, and a member and past president of the Salem Board of Trade.

“He did an awful lot for the town of Salem,” said Mueller, who sold the Observer to the Union Leader Corp. about nine years ago.

“He made a lot of friends in Salem,” said Talanian. “A lot of people liked him – good personality.”

Noyes was also a former director of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, an organization in New York City that advocates for economic justice by promoting awareness of the social philosophy and economic reforms advocated by the late political economist Henry George.

“He was a very smart person, he was a brilliant man,” recalled Mueller, noting that Noyes designed and built his own house. “He was into everything you could ever think of. He was an interesting man.”

In 1992, Noyes was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives. A Republican, he served four consecutive two-year terms before returning to the House in 2003 and 2004 for a fifth and final term.

“It was wonderful when he came to the House,” said Griffin, who knew Noyes before arrived in the Legislature and served with him on the Municipal and County Government Committee.

“Very knowledgeable, seemed to know everything. It was a pleasure working with him.” Griffin recalled that Noyes listened and asked questions and never raised his voice in anger.

“He was very good,” said Griffin. “He delved into everything. He did his job and he did his homework.”

According to several editions of the Handbook of New Hampshire Elected Officials, his priorities included taxation, property rights, economics, and listening to colleagues and constituents.

The books carried a personal statement from Noyes in his biography: “As a seventh generation N.H. native, I want to help people appreciate how well we compare with other states.”

“He was a refined gentleman,” said Griffin. “That’s how I’ll remember him.”