“I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and mentor, J. Patrick Rooney. Pat Rooney was a man who had a head for business and a heart for ‘the least of these.’ Pat Rooney was an inspiring leader, a good friend and a great man.

“In addition to building one of the most successful business careers in Indiana, Pat Rooney conceived of and tirelessly promoted reform in the areas of education and health care.

“He will always be remembered for having launched the first privately funded educational choice program in America, an idea that has been replicated in dozens of cities across America to the benefits of tens of thousands of underprivileged children.

“He will also be remembered as the father of the Health Savings Account, the leading free-market reform to the current crisis of the uninsured in America. His unshakeable belief in the ability of the individual to make their own health care choices has shaped the American health care debate for the past decade.

“I will miss my friend and mentor Pat Rooney on a very personal level. His ability to challenge and encourage those of us who knew him well was unique among his peers, and I will miss him greatly.

“May God bless the life and memory of J. Patrick Rooney.”

In short, the welfare of others simply mattered to Mr. Rooney. He lived accordingly.

The Golden Rule, as it appears in Matthew 7:12, exhorts: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." Would that more American executives could come as close to fulfilling that command as Mr. Rooney did.