Most people knew Jerry Vainisi as the general manager of the Chicago Bears during their magical Super Bowl season of 1985, but to his family and friends, he was a tough but tender patriarch whose appetite for hard work was exceeded only by his generosity.
Bears co-owner Patrick McCaskey, center right, attends the funeral Mass of former Bears General Manager Jerry Vainisi at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2022.
Vainisi put his sports dreams aside when his wife, Doris, became pregnant, and joined the accounting firm Arthur Andersen while attending law school at night. But in 1972, the Bears contacted him about becoming the team’s controller, and he worked in various business and legal roles before Halas made him GM.
“My dad included us in it all, from Platteville training camp to the ticker tape parade,” she said during the eulogy. “One of my fondest Super Bowl memories is looking out the window as we were landing at O’Hare in one of the team planes to see the ground crew, many of whom were dressed in navy blue and orange, jumping up and down and pumping their fists.
Vainisi went on to spend three seasons as vice president of player personnel for the Detroit Lions before helping to build the league that became known as NFL Europe. He then became an agent, and finally the owner of Forest Park Bank in the near west suburb.
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