A Love Of Family And Community: Remembering Patricia Rooney
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Patricia Rooney, the wife of late Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney and matriarch of one of the original NFL franchise died on Saturday.
She was 88-years-old and died at her home on the North Side.
As tributes pour in from across the country and the world, she is being remembered for her love of her family and her community.
Patricia was a member of the "Fab Four" the four matriarchs married to owners of storied NFL franchises.
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In an August 2019 interview with KDKA's Andy Sheehan, she fondly remembered the legendary 1970s Steelers.
"We were so lucky with that team of the 70s," she remembered. "We not only had wonderful talent but we had great people."
She was born and raised on the North Side and spent her entire life there.
Along the way, she met and married and the late Steelers Dan Rooney while she worked in the Steelers front office.
What a ride it was.
During 65 years of marriage, she raised nine children, cherished 19 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
She also marveled at a room full of Lombardi Trophies.
However, it's not just football that Mrs. Rooney is being remembered for - it's her charitable works.
"We got behind, of course, all the initiatives to beat cancer," she said in an interview. "We did a lot of work there. Lots of things for children, it just sort of came to be."
Later in life, she joined her husband Dan when President Barack Obama appointed him as Ambassador to Ireland.
Her legacy stands tall on the North Shore, where among other things, she helped restore a fountain in the Allegheny Commons.
Patricia Rooney was 88.