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Thousands attend Chick-fil-A owner’s funeral in GA

Andrew Cathy, grandson of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy reads scripture during the funeral service for Cathy, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 at First Baptist Jonesboro in Jonesboro, Ga. Cathy, 93, died on Monday. Cathy rose from poverty by building a privately held restaurant chain that famously closes every Sunday. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kent D. Johnson) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT Andrew Cathy, grandson of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy reads scripture during the funeral service for Cathy, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 at First Baptist Jonesboro in Jonesboro, Ga. Cathy, 93, died on Monday. Cathy rose from poverty by building a privately held restaurant chain that famously closes every Sunday. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kent D. Johnson) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT

By Associated Press September 10, 2014 1 min read

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) – Thousands of people attended a public funeral for Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who died early Monday at 93.

Cathy’s grandson, Andrew Cathy, was one of several speakers who spoke about the fast food mogul Wednesday at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro.

Cathy rose from poverty by building a privately held restaurant chain that famously closes every Sunday.

The businessman opened his first postwar diner in an Atlanta suburb in 1946.

Over ensuing decades, the chain’s boneless chicken sandwich he is credited with inventing would propel Chick-fil-A expansion to more than 1,800 outlets in 39 states and the nation’s capital.

Cathy’s $6 billion fortune put him on the yearly Forbes magazine list of the wealthiest Americans in the country, and the company has reported 46 consecutive years of growth.