S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A founder and chairman emeritus, died at 1:35 a.m. Monday at the age of 93. The company made the announcement in a letter to employees and noted that Cathy died peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones.

A devout Southern Baptist, Cathy taught Sunday school to 13-year-old boys for more than 50 years. He ensured that Chick-fil-A restaurants were closed Sundays, a policy that underscored Cathy’s desire to put his principles and people ahead of profits. With his passing, Chick-fil-A will remain privately held and closed Sundays.

“I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order,” Cathy said. “We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed. I have always encouraged my restaurant operators and team members to give back to the local community. We should be about more than just selling chicken, we should be a part of our customers’ lives and the communities in which we serve.”

Cathy left an example to business leaders with his principles, including catching people doing things right. Click here to listen to this principle in his own words.

Cathy’s oldest son, Dan, became president of the restaurant chain in 2001 and chairman and CEO in 2013, while Truett Cathy continued in the role of chairman emeritus.

Cathy was the author of several books: It’s Easier to Succeed Than to Fail (Thomas Nelson, 1989); Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People (Looking Glass Books, 2002); It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men (Looking Glass Books, 2004); How Did You Do It, Truett? (Looking Glass Books, 2007); and Wealth: Is it Worth It? (Looking Glass Books, 2011). He also was co-author with Ken Blanchard of The Generosity Factor (Zondervan, 2002).

In 2004, Cathy appeared as a presenter at Christian Retailing’s Retailers Choice Awards (now Christian Retailing’s Best), asking, “What do cows say?” to which audience members familiar with the chain’s advertising campaign promptly replied, “Eat more chicken!” Cathy gave away a copy of It’s Better to Build Boys than Mend Men to all attendees at the event.

Cathy was active in charitable work, founding the WinShape Foundation in 1984 to “shape winners” by helping young people through scholarships and other support programs. The chain offers a Leadership Scholarship Program, which has given more than $32 million in financial assistance to Chick-fil-A restaurant employees.

As part of Cathy’s WinShape Homes program—a long-term care program for foster children—13 homes are operated by the WinShape Foundation to provide care for foster children within a positive family environment. He also established WinShape Camps in 1985 as a two-week summer camp for young people. Each summer, more than 18,000 campers participate.

In 2003, Cathy helped his son and daughter-in-law, Bubba and Cindy, celebrate the opening of WinShape Retreat, a high-end retreat and conference facility on the campus of Berry College in Rome, Georgia. The facility also hosts marriage-enrichment retreats and business and church-related conferences, and in the summer houses WinShape Camp for girls.

Named after Baptist evangelist George W. Truett, Cathy was born the sixth in a family of seven children March 14, 1921, in Eatonton, Georgia, but moved to Atlanta as a young child.

In 1946, Cathy built a tiny diner in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Georgia. He developed it into Chick-fil-A, which today has the highest same-store sales and is the nation’s largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain based on annual system-wide sales, the company said. It was at this original restaurant that Cathy created the sandwich that became the chain’s signature item.

Cathy is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jeannette McNeil Cathy; sons Dan T. and Don “Bubba” Cathy; daughter Trudy Cathy White; 19 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

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