ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Millard Fuller , who founded Habitat for Humanity International along with his wife , has died , officials said Tuesday . He was 74 . Millard Fuller appears with President Bush at a Habitat for Humanity event in Tampa , Florida , in 2001 . Fuller died early Tuesday `` after a brief illness , '' said a statement on the Web site of the organization he currently headed , Fuller Center for Housing , in Americus , Georgia . `` Family and friends are mourning the tragic loss of a great servant leader and a genuine heart , '' the statement said . Fuller had suffered from chest congestion for three to four weeks , said Holly Chapman , spokeswoman for the Fuller Center . He died about 3 a.m. en route to a hospital , she said . With his wife , Linda , Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity International in 1976 . The Alabama native rose `` from humble beginnings '' to become a `` young , self-made millionaire , '' according to his biography on Habitat for Humanity 's Web site . He and a college friend began a marketing firm while still in school , `` but as his business prospered , his health , integrity and marriage suffered , '' the biography said . `` These crises prompted Fuller to re-evaluate his values and direction . His soul-searching led to reconciliation with his wife and to a renewal of his Christian commitment , '' it said . The Fullers sold all their possessions , gave money to the poor and began searching for a new direction . They found Koinonia Farm , a Christian community near Americus in rural southwest Georgia , the biography said . Along with Koinonia founder Clarence Jordan and a few others , the couple initiated several enterprises , among them a housing ministry that built modest homes on a no-interest , nonprofit basis and made them affordable to low-income families . Homeowner families were expected to use their own labor to help defray costs on their home as well as homes for other families . Money to build homes was placed into a revolving fund , enabling more to be built , according to the biography . In 1973 , the Fullers moved to Africa to test their housing model , the biography said . Their project was launched in Zaire -- now the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- and was a success . `` Fuller became convinced that this model could be expanded and applied all over the world , '' the biography said . When Fuller returned to the United States three years later , he met with a group of associates to create Habitat for Humanity International . According to its Web site , Habitat has provided shelter for more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities . `` I see life as both a gift and a responsibility . My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help his people in need , '' Fuller once said , according to Habitat 's Web site . Former President Carter , a key Habitat supporter , fellow Georgian and a close friend , issued a statement Tuesday saying Fuller `` was 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 . `` 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 . '' See celebrities working on Habitat projects '' In 1996 , President Clinton awarded Fuller the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation 's highest civilian honor , calling Habitat `` the most successful continuous community service project in the history of the United States . '' Fuller left Habitat for Humanity in 2005 amid a dispute with the organization 's board . Habitat said in a statement at the time his termination culminated `` several months of differences between the Fullers and the board over allegations of inappropriate personal behavior of Millard Fuller toward a now-former female employee , '' according to an article in the February 2005 edition of Christianity Today magazine . The organization noted there was insufficient evidence to corroborate the complaint , according to Christianity Today , but said Fuller engaged in `` a pattern of ongoing public comments and communications ... that have been divisive and disruptive to the organization 's work . '' For his part , Fuller told the magazine he feared the board used the controversy to push him out to find a `` high-paid bean counter '' instead of someone with `` strong Christian commitment . '' `` We 've overloaded the board with ` money ' people , all of whom are nominal Christians , but many of whom are not spiritually grounded , '' he told the magazine . `` Some seem put off by my overt declaration of Jesus . '' After his departure , Fuller founded the Fuller Center for Housing , which its Web site describes as `` a nonprofit , ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide . '' The center was founded after Fuller `` set out to expand his missionary vision '' by returning to his roots at Koinonia Farm , a cooperative community dedicated to peace and service . A new mission statement was issued at Koinonia dedicating the Fuller Center as `` a Christ-centered , faith-driven organization witnessing the love of God by providing opportunities for families to have a simple , decent place to live , '' according to the site . Funeral services are scheduled for Wednesday , said Chapman , the Fuller Center spokeswoman . Fuller will be buried at Koinonia Farm , according to the center 's Web site . CNN 's Hank Bishop contributed to this report .