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Virginia McCaskey, the longtime owner of the Chicago Bears, has died, the team announced Thursday. She was 102.
“While we are sad, we are comforted knowing Virginia Halas McCaskey lived a long, full, faith-filled life and is now with the love of her life on earth,” her family said. “She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.”
McCaskey inherited the team from her father, George Halas, a co-founder of the NFL, after he died in 1983. She has served as the club’s principal owner ever since.
Two years after McCaskey inherited the club, they won Super Bowl XX, beating the Patriots 46-10. The lost a second 21 years later.
“Mrs. McCaskey understood, not only her father’s love and appreciation of football and the team which he played for, coached and owned, but also the love of the Chicago Bears by its fans. She always kept in mind what the Bears meant to the City of Chicago and what the city meant to the Bears,” the Bears said in a statement.
“She had a passion for the team that matched her father’s, celebrating every win with grace while quietly suffering every loss.”
While McCaskey was the franchise’s principal owner for 40 years, she left the operation of the team up to her husband and children, according to CBS.
Her late husband, Ed McCaskey, was already the team’s vice president when Halas died, and then took over as team chairman until he died in 1999.
Michael McCaskey, her eldest son, took over as president after Halas’ death, and became chairman of the board in 1999. He remained in position until 2011. After that, his brother, George McCaskey, took over as chairman and still holds the position to this day.
Virginia McCaskey is survived by six sons, three daughters, 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren.
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Additional reporting by AP.
