Virginia McCaskey Had 11 Children, and Some Work for the Bears

Longtime Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey passed away on Feb. 6, 2025, at the age of 102, the team confirmed in an X (formerly Twitter) post. She inherited the team after her father, George Halas, who co-founded the NFL and founded the Bears, died in 1983.

Like her father, Virginia kept the Bears in the family, bringing some of her kids into leadership roles. She welcomed 11 children with her husband, Edward "Ed" McCaskey, some of which are still here with us today, while others passed away too soon. Here’s everything we know about Virginia’s kids and which ones are still calling the shots for the Bears.

Virginia married Ed McCaskey in February 1943, and over their 60-year marriage, they welcomed 11 children — eight sons and three daughters: Michael, Tim, Patrick, Edward Jr., George, Richard, Brian, Joseph, Ellen, Mary, and Anne.

Sadly, Ed passed away in April 2003 at the age of 83. Through it all, two things remained constant for Virginia: her devotion to Christianity, as noted on the Bears's official website, and her commitment to keeping the team in the family, though with a franchise this big, some branching out was inevitable.

Virginia’s eldest son, Michael, was the Bears' president from 1982 to 1999 before transitioning to chairman from 1999 until his retirement in 2011. He passed away in May 2020 at 76. Her second-oldest son, Tim, was the team’s vice president from 1993 until his passing in January 2011.

Currently, four of Virginia’s sons hold leadership roles with the Bears. George became the team’s fourth chairman in May 2011, stepping in after Michael retired. As the primary face of the team — and sharing a name with the Bears’s founder and Virginia’s father — there’s plenty of information available about him.

George started working for the Bears young — at just 14 years old — as an office assistant at team headquarters. He later spent summers as a ball boy at training camp, calling it "one of the best experiences of his life." Before taking on the chairman role, he spent 20 seasons as the team’s senior director of ticket operations and has been a member of the Bears’s board of directors since 2004.

In addition to holding down a role with the Bears since his teenage years, George made sure to earn his credentials. He graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting in 1978, followed by a law degree in 1981. He later added to his resumé by earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in 2021, according to his Bears bio.

As for Patrick and Brian, they both serve as vice presidents, while Rich is in administration, per the Bears's website.

It's unclear what Edward Jr. and Joseph are up to or if they have any involvement with the Bears, as they tend to keep a low profile.

Yes! Virginia is survived by dozens of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren. Before her passing in 2025, she had 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren, per ESPN. Needless to say, if the family ever needs a big team to rally behind the Bears, they've got the manpower!