Norma Hunt, wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder, dies at 85 : NPR

Norma Hunt, co-owner and widow of team founder Lamar Hunt, speaks to team members on the field before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass.

Charles Krupa/AP

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Charles Krupa/AP

Norma Hunt, co-owner and widow of team founder Lamar Hunt, speaks to team members on the field before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass.

Charles Krupa/AP

Norma Hunt, wife of late Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt and the only woman to attend every Super Bowl, has died, the team announced Sunday.

The team and the National Football League said she was 85. The cause of death was not given.

“Kind, generous and always positive, Mom was one of a kind,” the Hunt family said in a statement. “Her joy and zeal for life was contagious. She loved caring for others and always had a word of encouragement. She was a loyal friend, an accomplished hostess and she had a rare ability to make sure everyone those she met felt valued and comfortable.”

“Mom was staunchly devoted to her family and fiercely passionate about her family’s sports teams,” the statement added. “She has been with our father Lamar every step of the way – from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, the World Tennis Championship, the North American Soccer League and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls. She was the only person we knew who rivaled her love of the sport. The two found such joy together, whether at home or in the stands of stadiums around the world.”

Lamar Hunt died in 2006 at the age of 74.

In February, Norma Hunt was able to attend her 57th Super Bowl and see the Chiefs win for the third time in franchise history. In May, the team announcement he will travel to the White House on Monday.

“Ms. Norma was the best. Glad to be a part of this special organization she helped build. She will be missed! Prayers to the entire Hunt family,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.

“The entire NFL family is deeply saddened by the passing of Norma Hunt, who was a significant presence in the NFL for the past seven decades,” NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell said.

“I have been blessed to know Norma for almost 40 years and have always been struck by her warmth and grace, her partnership with Lamar and her pride in their family,” he added. “Norma’s sense of family extended to the Chiefs organization which she loved so much.”