Virginia McCaskey, who inherited the Bears from her father, George Halas, but avoided the spotlight during four-plus decades as principal owner, has died. She was 102.

McCaskey’s family announced through the team that she died Thursday. She had owned the Bears since her father’s death on Oct. 31, 1983.

“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,” the 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.”

Like her father, a co-founder of the NFL, McCaskey kept the team in family hands. She gave operational control and the title of president to her eldest son, Michael McCaskey, who served as chairman until being succeeded by brother George McCaskey in 2011.

During her stewardship, the Bears won a Super Bowl in 1986 and lost a second 21 years later.

Four of McCaskey’s sons remain with the Bears’ board of directors: George, Patrick, Brian and Ed. A recent valuation by Forbes.com pegged the team’s worth at $6.4 billion.

McCaskey never expected to be in charge. Her brother, George “Mugs” Halas Jr., was being groomed to take over the team, but died of a heart attack in 1979.

McCaskey assumed ownership upon her father’s death in 1983, and her late husband, Ed McCaskey, succeeded Halas as chairman. Not long after, she turned over control to Michael, the eldest of her 11 children.

“I think it’s important that all of our family remembers that we really haven’t done anything to earn this,” McCaskey said in a rare interview in 2006. “We’re just the recipients of a tremendous legacy. I use the word ‘custodian,’ and we want to pass it on the best way we can.”

McCaskey’s official title was secretary to the board of directors. Despite her generally hands-off approach and low public profile, she occasionally exercised ultimate authority on team decisions.

One of those involved a 1987 lawsuit brought by the children of “Mugs” Halas, which was resolved by a stock buyout of their shares. A more recent reminder came in December 2014, when George McCaskey announced the firings of coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery at a news conference, and was asked to describe his mother’s role in the process.

He paused, struggling to describe her unhappiness with the just-ended 5-11 season, and the team’s generally fading fortunes.

“She’s pissed off,” George McCaskey said. “I can’t think of a 91-year-old woman that that description would apply, but in this case, I can’t think of a more accurate description.

“Virginia McCaskey has been on this earth for eight of the Bears’ nine championships, and she wants more,” he added a moment later. “She feels that it’s been too long since the last (Super Bowl win). She’s fed up with mediocrity. She feels that she and Bears fans everywhere deserve better.”

Litke retired from the AP in 2022.