17 Facts About Millard Fuller

Millard Dean Fuller was the co-founder and the former president of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit organization known globally for building houses for those in need.

Millard Fuller was widely regarded as the leader of the modern-day movement for affordable housing and had been honored for his work in the United States and abroad.

Millard Fuller was born in Lanett, Alabama, on January 3,1935, to Render and Estin Cook Millard Fuller.

Millard Fuller had two half-brothers by stepmother Eunice, Nick and Doyle.

Millard Fuller majored in economics at Auburn University and received a law degree from the University of Alabama.

Millard Fuller married Linda Caldwell of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1959.

Millard Fuller died unexpectedly on February 3,2009, while en route to the hospital in nearby Albany, Georgia, aged 74.

In 1965, the Millard Fuller family stopped to visit friends at Koinonia Farm on a road trip from NYC.

Millard Fuller moved his family to Zaire in 1973 to implement the ideals of Partnership Housing in the African context.

Concerned residents worked with Millard Fuller to develop a program similar to that in Zaire, using volunteer labor to construct affordable, safe houses for needy families in San Antonio's slums.

In early 1984, Millard Fuller courted the man who would become Habitat's most famous volunteer, President Jimmy Carter.

Millard Fuller continued his work in the housing movement with the establishment of the Millard Fuller Center for Housing in April 2005.

Millard Fuller expanded on the foundation of Habitat by encouraging communities to create "collaborative and innovative partnerships" to address the housing needs of the most needy in communities.

Millard Fuller continued to travel extensively, speaking at Habitat affiliates and Fuller Center Covenant Partnerships to raise awareness, funds and volunteers in his effort to eradicate poverty housing from the face of the earth.

Millard Fuller had a simple burial and is buried on the grounds of Koinonia Farm.

Millard Fuller was the recipient of numerous awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.

In 1999, Millard Fuller received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.