More on Millard

The entry below is reposted from the Fuller Center website, and has more information about Millard Fuller’s death. Pay special attention to the description of how Millard, one of our most influential leaders, was buried: in a simple box, with no grave marker.

Totally consistent with his own spiritual values…

“Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Center for Housing, died early Tuesday morning after a brief illness. Preliminary autopsy results suggest congestive heart failure. He was 74. Family and friends are mourning the tragic loss of a true servant leader and a genuine heart.

Millard was buried humbly on Pine Hill at Koinonia Farm on February 4 at 11 a.m. Millard wished to be buried in the same manner as his spiritual mentor and friend Clarence Jordan, Koinonia’s founder. Like Clarence, Millard was laid to rest in a simple box and has no specific marker for his grave.

Please check back later in the week for further stories and photos of the gathering at the funeral.

The family is planning a memorial service for later in the month. We will announce plans as they are confirmed.

Linda Fuller, Millard’s wife of 49 years and the co-founder of Habitat and The Fuller Center, said that great strides have been made toward fulfilling Millard’s vision of eliminating poverty housing around the world, but that there is still tremendous work to be done.

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

Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement in which he called Fuller “one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known.

“He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing,” Carter said in the statement. “As the founder of Habitat for Humanity and later the Fuller Center, he was an inspiration to me, other members of our family and an untold number of volunteers who worked side-by-side under his leadership.”

The family kindly requests that donations be made to The Fuller Center in lieu of flowers, and to help us continue the great work that is Millard’s legacy.”

For more on Millard’s life and work, click on the “Who We Are” link above to read Millard’s biography, or visit MillardFuller.com.

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Eric Folkerth is a minister, musician, author and blogger. He is Senior Pastor of Kessler Park UMC United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. Previously, he was pastor at Northaven UMC in Dallas for seventeen years. Eric loves to write on topics of spirituality, social justice, music/art and politics. The entries on this blog reflect that diversity of interests. His passion for social justice goes beyond mere words. He’s been arrested at the White House, defending immigrants and “The Dreamers,” and he’s officiated at same sex weddings in his churches, in defiance of what some believe is Methodist teaching. Eric is an avid blogger and published author, and 2017 recipient of the prestigeous Kuchling Humanitarian Award from Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner. (Human Rights Campaign) Eric has led or co-led hundreds of persons on mission trips around the globe, to places such as Mexico, Haiti, Russia, and Nepal. He has worked with lay persons to build ten homes, and one Community Center, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Dallas. He’s a popular preacher, and often tackles challenging issues of social justice in his writings and sermons. His wife, Judge Dennise Garcia, is a State District Judge for Dallas, County. As judge of the 303rd Family District Court, she consistently gets high ratings from area lawyers, and was named “best judge” by The Dallas Observer. First elected in 2004, she was the first Latina ever elected to a county-wide bench in Dallas County, and is currently the longest service district judge in that district. She was re-elected for a fourth term in 2018. They have the world’s best daughter, Maria, and an incredible dog, Daisy. Find links to Eric’s music-related websites, at the top of this site’s navigation menu.

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