I cannot claim to have known S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A’s founder, who died today, but I will sing his praises.

When I was writing my dissertation at the University of Georgia, I had the opportunity to teach history and government courses at Prince Avenue Christian School in Athens, GA. I also coached varsity girls and j.v. boys basketball. As you might expect, my duties put me in touch, in one way or another, with most of the high school students since P.A.C.S. was on the small side.

There was one family there that did not quite add up, at least mathematically. The Friersons were a young couple who drove a large, white passenger van to school every morning. The doors would swing open and out would tumble innumerable children. The math was strange because some of the kids were probably less than a decade younger than the parents. And, I found out, the kids had different last names, including Stidham. I taught at least two Stidhams, as I recall, and coached one as well.

What I learned, soon enough, was that the Friersons ran a home for orphaned children. Those children, piling out of that van, were not their children, at least not in a biological sense, but it was obvious they were loved.

Again, though, there was a problem with math. How could a young couple possibly afford to take care of these children and pay for private school on top of that? Of course, it was always possible that a millionaire uncle lurked in the woodpile, but the truth was far more touching.

While the Friersons raised those kids, S. Truett Cathy was the millionaire writing the checks. He bankrolled, to my knowledge, everything revolving around the home and expenses. Even though he was too old to parent, he was wise enough to find people, young and vibrant, to do that for him.

Chick-fil-A makes a delicious sandwich, far and away my favorite fast food. Those sandwiches made Truett Cathy a wealthy man. We should praise his generosity, which was made possible only by his financial success. What made Truett Cathy rich made the Friersons and immeasurably improved the lives of all those attached to them, including the Stidhams and the dozens who have replaced them over the years. For that, and surely for many other things, Truett Cathy deserves our accolades.