Word: ‘What you do with your life’

Millard Fuller, a deeply religious and successful entrepreneur who gave up his fortune to found Habitat for Humanity International, died unexpectedly last week near his home in Americus at the age of 74. The organization has built more than 300,000 homes for poor people across the world.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Millard Fuller has literally revolutionized the concept of philanthropy.”

—Bill Clinton in 1996, after awarding Fuller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

“It’s not your blue blood, your pedigree or your college degree. It’s what you do with your life that counts.”

— Fuller to Time, in a 1989 profile.

“Millard would not want people to mourn his death. He would be more interested in having people put on a tool belt and build a house for people in need.”

— Fuller’s wife Linda, to the Associated Press.

(Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity International)