Bernard Marcus died on November 4, 2024, at the age of 90. He was co-founder of The Home Depot, Inc., an innovative Georgia company that revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept.  He served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002.  He remained director emeritus, and was  Chairman of The Marcus Foundation.  While perhaps best known for his generous support for the Georgia Aquarium and Georgia Tech’s nanotechnology center, Bernie Marcus and his wife Billi, through The Marcus Institute at Emory University, championed the cause for children and adolescents with neurological disorders including autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, behavioral disorders, and fetal alcohol syndrome.  In 2005, they received the Salvation Army’s highest honor–the Others Award–for their efforts.  Marcus helped create Project Share in conjunction with Atlanta’s famed Shepherd Center, with The Marcus Foundation underwriting the costs of treatment, housing, and transportation for any U.S. soldier who had incurred brain and spinal injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan, a humanitarian act for which he received the USO’s 2008 Patriot Award.  In September 2008, The Marcus Institute joined forces with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to create the Marcus Autism Center to offer expanded services for children with autism.

In recognition of his selfless leadership and generosity, Marcus was inducted by Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Historical Society in 2009 as a Georgia Trustee—the highest honor the State of Georgia can confer. He subsequently donated his professional papers to the Georgia Historical Society where they are available for study and research.