FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2001, file photo, S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, poses in a replica of "The Dwarf Grill," the original restaurant he started in Atlanta in 1946. A spokesman said Cathy, who started the postwar diner in Atlanta that grew into the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, died early Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File) (The Associated Press)
JONESBORO, Ga. – 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 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.
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