Patricia Rooney, wife of late Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, is seen in this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo. She died at her Pittsburgh home Jan. 30, 2021, at age 88. CNS photo/Karl Roser, courtesy Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik remembered Patricia Rooney, who died Jan. 30 at age 88, as “a model of quiet strength, grace and faith as she raised her family while aiding community causes and supporting her husband, Dan, the late chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

“For the 65 years of their marriage, she kept their modest North Side home and made sure the family got to Mass, game or no game,” he said in a statement. “She taught humility and kindness by demonstrating it daily.”

The Steelers announced Rooney’s death. She died at her Pittsburgh home. No cause of death was given. Because of the pandemic, funeral services were private, with a memorial Mass to be celebrated at a later date.

“My family and I are mourning the passing of my mother, Patricia,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “She helped raise nine children while supporting my father’s career with the Steelers and his time as ambassador to Ireland (2009-2012). It is a sad day for our family.”

“My mother meant so much to not only all of us in the family, but she gave so much of her time and energy helping those in need in the Pittsburgh community,” he added. “She will leave a lasting impression on so many people and organizations in our area, especially the Salvation Army and many organizations in the North Side of Pittsburgh.”

Rooney’s “commitment to public service was as strong as her husband’s, whether in Pittsburgh or in Ireland during the years of his ambassadorship,” Bishop Zubik said in a Jan. 30 statement. “Mrs. Rooney exemplified quiet leadership here in Steelers country and beyond. My prayers are with the Rooney family, as is my confidence that she has raised the younger generations to carry on her spirit of charity and concern for all.”

Rooney represented her family and the Steelers with “extraordinary grace, dignity, and integrity,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his wife said in a statement. “Patricia was passionately devoted to her faith, the wonderful family she and Dan raised and adored, the Pittsburgh community and the Steelers’ organization.”

Rooney was born on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Her late parents, Mary Duffy Regan and Martin Regan, were Irish immigrants. She was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. After she married Dan Rooney, the couple made their home on the North Side and raised their children there.

In addition to Art Rooney II, she is survived by five other children, Patricia R. Gerrero, Daniel M. Rooney, Mary Duffy Rooney, John T. Rooney and James E. Rooney; three of her children are deceased, Joan M. Clancy, Kathleen R. Miller and Rita Rooney Conway.

She also is survived by 18 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; her brother, Martin Francis Regan, and sisters Evelyn R. O’Brien, Rita R. Heberle and Irene R. Hill. Three of her sisters and two brothers are deceased.

In an interview with Catholic News Service some years ago, Benedictine Archabbott Douglas Nowicki in Latrobe, Pennsylvania — where the Steelers have trained for years — said the Rooneys have always been known for three things: “faith, family and football.”

Daily Mass “has certainly been part of their upbringing” in this strong Irish Catholic family, the priest said. “It’s very much who they are and their identities. The importance of faith, family and football permeates the entire organization.”