Today's revisionism tries to erase any mention of the philosophies or principles of Christias that made them the people they were.
A small part of a bio I found on the internet:
"Penney liked being called "The Man with a Thousand Partners, " a phrase he used in the title of an autobiography. He claimed that "the ethical means by which my business associates and I have made money is more important than the fact that we have achieved business success....
"After leaving the presidency of the company in 1917, Penney spent more time on his outside interests. One was cattle breeding. He ran a 705-acre farm in New York state from 1922 to 1953 raising purebred Guernsey dairy cattle. He operated another farm in New York state and eight or nine farms in Missouri. Penney was also involved with many charitable and religious endeavors and was a prodigious speaker. He was active in the Young Men's Christian Association, Boy Scouts, National 4-H Club, Allied Youth Inc., and Laymen's Movement for a Christian World. He founded a home for retired religious workers in Florida in memory of his parents. Although he had only a limited education, he was the recipient of 17 honorary degrees and many other honors, awards, and citations."
"Penney's rise to fame and fortune was not an unmarred success story. A major financial disaster struck in the 1929 stock market crash. Penney lost $40 million when several banks from which he had borrowed foreclosed on loans secured by his personal holdings of stock. He let his servants go and wound up weakened in spirit and health and facing a $7 million debt at the age of 56. But Penney was able to start over again with borrowed money and soon regained control of his "empire." In his later years he reflected: "I believe in adherence to the Golden Rule, faith in God and the country. If I were a young man again, those would be my cardinal principles."
Here is something interesting I learned about years ago:
http://www.penneyretirementcommunity.org/default2.asp?active_page_id=928
“Penney Retirement Community was founded by J. C. Penney in 1926 for Christian people whose lives had been devoted to Christian service: Pastors, missionaries, YMCA and YWCA workers, and Christian workers. All Christian denominations have been welcomed from the earliest days.”