Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist who founded the fast food restaurant chain

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

in 1946.

Early life

Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in

Eatonton, Georgia Eatonton is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,307. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War. The n ...

, the son of Lilla James (née Kimball) and Joseph Benjamin Cathy. He attended Boys High School in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and later served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Cathy began the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946 with a restaurant called the Dwarf Grill, named for its size. It was there that he, with his brother and business partner Ben, created the chicken sandwich that later became the signature menu item for Chick-fil-A. From 1964 to 1967, the sandwich was licensed to over fifty eateries, including

Waffle House Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 2,000 locations in 25 states in the United States. The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon. The menu consists mainly o ...

and the concession stands of the new Houston

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

. The Chick-Fil-A sandwich was withdrawn from sale at other restaurants when the first standalone location opened in 1967, in the

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

of the

Greenbriar Mall Greenbriar Mall is a shopping mall in the Greenbriar neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia that opened in 1965. The anchor stores are Beauty Master, Dollar Tree, Greenbriar Furniture, and Citi Trends. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were onc ...

in Atlanta. In April 2008, he opened Upscale Pizza in

Fayetteville, Georgia Fayetteville ( ; locally ) is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of downtown ...

. In November 2013, he retired as both chairman and CEO of Chick-fil-A, leaving his son,

Dan Cathy Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the chairman of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which was founded and expanded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. He has a net worth of $10.6 billion as of October 2024. Earl ...

, to assume the roles.

Personal life

He married Jeannette McNeil, and they had three children: Trudy, "Bubba" (Don), and

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

Ministry

He taught

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

to teenagers at the First Baptist church, Baptist Church of

Jonesboro, Georgia Jonesboro () is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,235 in 2020. The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. During the American Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta ...

, for over 50 years.

Beliefs

He said that the Bible is his guidebook for life.Cathy, S. Truett, ''It's Easier To Succeed Than Fail'', Oliver-Nelson Books (1989); . Due to his strong religious beliefs, all of the company's locations, whether company-owned or franchised, are closed on Sundays to allow its employees to attend church and spend time with their families. This policy began when Cathy was working multiple shifts, six days a week. He then decided to close on Sundays.

Books

Cathy wrote five books: the autobiography ''Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People'', a motivational book entitled ''It's Easier to Succeed Than to Fail'', the parenting book ''It's Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men'', an explanation of his business success in ''How Did You Do It, Truett?'', and a final book on the significance of money in today's society titled ''Wealth, Is It Worth It?''. He also contributed to the anthologies ''What My Parents Did Right'' and ''Conversations on Success'', and co-wrote with

Ken Blanchard Kenneth Hartley Blanchard (born May 6, 1939) is an American author, business consultant and motivational speaker who has written more than 70 books, most of which were co-authored. His most successful book, '' The One Minute Manager'', has sol ...

''Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure''. McDonough-Fayetteville Road in Fayette,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, and Clayton counties, is named in his honor. Cathy said that the motivational book ''

Think and Grow Rich ''Think and Grow Rich'' is a book written by Napoleon Hill and Rosa Lee Beeland released in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. He claimed to be inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthr ...

'' by

Napoleon Hill Oliver Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is best known for his book ''Think and Grow Rich'' (1937), which is among the best-selling self-help books of all time. Hill's works insisted tha ...

was one of the greatest foundations for inspiration growing up.

Philanthropy

Cathy was closely involved in a sponsorship deal on the

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game founded as the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

; from 1997 to 2005, and again since 2014, it is known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and was simply named the Chick-fil-A Bowl from 2006 to 2013. On October 28, 2006, Cathy received the last Taurus off the assembly line of Ford's Atlanta plant, in recognition of a 60-year relationship between him and the plant. Cathy had a Leadership Scholarship program for

restaurant employees, which has awarded more than $23 million in $1,000 scholarships in the past 35 years. In 1984, Cathy established the WinShape Foundation, named for its mission to shape winners. In addition, Cathy fostered children for more than 30 years. He received the

William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

in 2008.

Death

Cathy died at his home on September 8, 2014, the age of 93 of complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. The family held a public funeral service on Wednesday, September 10, at First Baptist Church,

. His interment was at Greenwood Cemetery. His widow, Jeannette Cathy, died in 2015 at age 92.

Honors and memberships

Cathy received numerous honors, including membership in

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

(ΟΔΚ), the National Leadership Honor Society. He received ΟΔΚ's highest award, the Laurel Crowned Circle Award in 2009. He also received the Norman Vincent and

Ruth Stafford Peale Ruth Stafford Peale ( Stafford; September 10, 1906 – February 6, 2008) was an American writer, editor, and speaker. She was born in Fonda, Iowa, to Canadian parents Methodist clergyman Frank B. Stafford and Loretta A. Stafford. In 1913, ...

Humanitarian Award, the

Horatio Alger Award The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to promote and ensure the American Dream for future generations, honor the achievements of outstanding Un ...

, the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership, and the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The ...

. Cathy was inducted into the

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization. It was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential ...

U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a member of

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

and

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the Schoo ...

Fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

. In 2007, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine ranked Cathy as the 380th richest man in America and the 799th richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

bestowed the

President's Call to Service Award The President's Call to Service Award is awarded by the President of the United States to people who have completed more than 4,000 hours of community service. It is the highest level of the President's Volunteer Service Award. Background The Pr ...

on Cathy in 2008. In 2013, he was inducted as a Georgia Trustee. The honor is given by the

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

, in conjunction with the

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of

Trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.

Honorary doctorates

In 1997, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Humane Letters from

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder ...

. Cathy was inducted into the

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system includes IWU—M ...

Society of World Changers on April 3, 2011. In addition to being inducted into the Society, the university conferred upon Cathy an honorary doctorate of business. In May 2012, Cathy received an honorary doctorate along with presidential candidate

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

at the

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

's spring commencement ceremony. In his remarks, Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee at the time, said, "The Romney campaign comes to a sudden stop when we spot a Chick-fil-A. Your chicken sandwiches were our comfort food through the primary season, and heaven knows there were days that we needed a lot of comfort." Romney congratulated Cathy on his "well-deserved honor today".O'Connor, Clare
"Romney Speaks At Anti-Gay Liberty University Alongside Baptist Billionaire"
''

'' blog, May 12, 2012; retrieved May 12, 2012.

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans: S. Truett Cathy
accessed September 8, 2014.
Serving with a Smile: Meet S. Truett Cathy, Winner of the 2008 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathy, S. Truett 1921 births 2014 deaths American billionaires American business writers American investors United States Army personnel of World War II American motivational writers Philanthropists from Georgia (U.S. state) American restaurateurs Baptists from Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Cathy family Chick-fil-A Fast-food chain founders Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Eatonton, Georgia People from Hapeville, Georgia People from Jonesboro, Georgia Southern Baptists United States Army soldiers Writers from Georgia (U.S. state)