"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 Bears said in a statement . "She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans."

Virginia was one of George Halas' two children, and she moved into position to inherit the team when her brother, George Halas Jr., died in 1979.

She then inherited the Bears in 1983 when her father died.

Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times noted she named her husband, Ed, the team's chairman shortly after inheriting the Bears. She also named her son, Michael, the president and CEO, although she later demoted Michael in 1999 to chairman when Ted Phillips took his place.

Michael retired in 2010, and one of her other sons, George, took over the role.

Virginia represented 13 different family members and approximately 80 percent of the Bears on the NFL's board of directors.

"How that voting bloc will be affected after her death is unclear," Finley wrote. "When asked in recent years about the team's future, George has said repeatedly that his mother had a plan that would keep the team in the family after her death. The NFL mandates each team have a succession plan, though public details are vague."