Kansas City Chiefs matriarch Norma Hunt, only woman to attend all 57 Super Bowls, dies at 85

Norma Hunt, the mother of Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt and wife of the late Lamar Hunt, has died at the age of 85, the team announced on Sunday.

Hunt was famous for having attended all 57 Super Bowls – the only woman to do so. That streak included the Chiefs' most recent championship in February over the Philadelphia Eagles. No cause of death was given.

"Kind, generous and unfailingly positive, mom was one of a kind," the family said in a statement. "Her joy and zeal for life were infectious. She loved caring for others, and she always had an encouraging word. She was a loyal friend, the consummate hostess and she had a rare ability to make everyone she encountered feel valued and at ease."

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed his condolences on Twitter.

"Mrs. Norma was the best," the two-time MVP wrote. "Glad to be a part of this special organization she help build. She will be missed! Prayers to the entire Hunt family."

Norma Knobel, a schoolteacher from Texas, married Lamar Hunt in 1964. Hunt, for whom the AFC Championship Trophy is named, was a founding member of the AFL, which eventually merged with the NFL to form the modern league. The Hunt family also was a founding ownership group of Major League Soccer and currently own FC Dallas. Upon Lamar's death in 2006, their son Clark took over.

"She was the only person we knew who rivaled his love of sports," the family's statement said. "The two of them found such joy together, whether at home, or in stadium stands around the world."

In addition to Clark, Norma Hunt also had a second son, Daniel. Lamar Hunt also had two children from a previous marriage, Lamar Jr. and Sharron.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called Hunt "a tremendous presence" in the league for the past seven decades.

"I was fortunate to know Norma for nearly 40 years and was always struck by her warmth and grace, her partnership with Lamar, and her pride in their family," Goodell said in a statement. "Norma's sense of family extended to the Chiefs' organization which she greatly adored. Norma was one of the most passionate fans of the Chiefs and the NFL, and understood and enjoyed every aspect of the game."

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Norma Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs matriarch, dies at 85