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'We love you. We'll miss you.' Houston Texans past and present gather for Janice McNair's funeral
Funeral services were held Friday for Janice McNair, Houston Texans co-founder and senior chair. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) Hundreds of people gathered Friday at St. Luke's United Methodist Church for the funeral of Houston Texans co-founder Janice McNair."She was exceptional," said Cal McNair, Janice's son and the current CEO and chair of the Texans.McNair died July 14 of natural causes. She was 89.Throughout the service, McNair's graciousness, her ability to make others feel seen and her impact on the lives of others were common threads speakers touched upon during the service.LEGACY OF GIVING:Janice McNair's actions away from football were manyCal said the four main pillars in her mother's life were faith, family, philanthropy and football.Among the people in attendance at the service included Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Johnson, Texas legend J.J. Watt, current Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, former head coach Gary Kubiak, general manager Nick Caserio, quarterback C.J. Stroud, Mayor John Whitmire and several other players.She co-founded the Texans with her late husband Bob in 1999. The McNairs had first moved to Houston nearly four decades before in 1960 with Bob making his mark in the business world with Cogen Technologies, which became the largest privately held power company in the country.The Texans played their first season in 2002. Following Bob's death in 2018, McNair was the team's principal owner until 2024 when Cal took over the role.In addition to her role with the Texans, McNair was also a dedicated philanthropist. She and her husband donated more than half a billion dollars in their lifetimes and started three charities, all of which McNair chaired."Alongside Bob, she helped bring the NFL back to her beloved Houston and played an essential role in building the Texans into an organization that reflects the values they held dear - service, integrity, and commitment to community," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement after McNair's death.The McNairs gave money to a variety of causes in the local Houston community, including to local educational and medical institutions.McNair was bornin 1936 and grew up in Orangeburg, S.C. She attended Columbia (S.C) College.She and Bob married in 1957. They had four children, sons Cal and Cary and daughters Melissa and Ruth, 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.Cal said it is comforting to know his parents are together once again."They shared an extraordinary partnership," Cal said.McNair was the fourth person inducted into the Texans Ring of Honor, joining her husband, Johnson and Watt.Johnson, who played for the Texans from 2003 to 2014, said being able to speak about McNair as part of the service is one of his life's greatest honors.The McNairs didn't just give him a football contract, Johnson said, they gave him a family.Johnson highlighted Janice's strength and how she celebrated the Texans players more so for who they were as people than for their football accomplishments.He also noted that while he might have been the first player inducted into the Texans Ring of Honor, Janice was the example for everyone."We love you," Johnson said. "We'll miss you."SubscribeTheres more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25.This article originally published at 'We love you. We'll miss you.' Houston Texans past and present gather for Janice McNair's funeral.
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