Funeral services for late Houston Texans co-founder Janice McNair

HOUSTON - The funeral service for the late Houston Texans Co-Founder and Senior Chair Janice S. McNair has been announced by the Texans.

McNair recently passed away on July 14 at the age of 89 with her family by her side in Houston.

She is survived by four children, 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Her husband, Robert McNair, passed away in 2018.

Honoring Janice S. McNair

There will be a public visitation on July 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Geo H. Lewis & Sons at 1010 Bering Drive.

McNair's funeral service will be held on Friday, July 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Luke's United Methodist Church at 3471 Westheimer Road.

Janice's contributions to Houston

McNair grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was active in sports, choir and student government, president of the South Carolina Association of Student Councils and governor of the South Carolina Girls' State. She graduated from Columbia College in Columbia, S.C. with a degree in education and later received an honorary doctorate from Columbia College. She was a breast cancer survivor.

Since moving to Houston in 1960, Janice and her husband Bob raised four children and embarked on a lifelong career of giving back to the community. The McNairs were generous philanthropists, making education and medical research the cornerstones of their charitable giving. In total, Bob and Janice contributed more than a half billion dollars to charity. Contributions were made through The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, the Houston Texans Foundation and The Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation in Forest City, N.C. Janice served as a director of each foundation.

In 2025, Mrs. McNair was inducted as the fourth member of the Texans Ring of Honor. She was honored at a halftime ceremony where she was lauded by Texans fans who showed their appreciation to her for bringing football back to Houston and the immeasurable impact she's made in the years since. Her name was placed in the rafters next to her late husband, Bob's, and alongside Legends Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt.

The Houston Texans Foundation was created in 2002 at the inception of the franchise. The Houston Texans said it was born out of Janice and Bob's strong desire to do great things for Houston, especially Houston's youth. Since the Texans Foundation's inception in 2002, more than $51 million has been raised to inspire hope in H-Town. The Texans Foundation leverages the power of football to strengthen our community, support youth development and break down barriers to fundamental resources.

Through The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, Janice and Bob established McNair Scholars programs which recruit the best and brightest students and faculty to the University of South Carolina, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Texas Children's Hospital. Their contributions to academic medical research, including a transformational gift in 2007 to Baylor College of Medicine support medical scientists who are innovating treatments for disease. The McNair Campus was named in recognition of their generosity. In 2015, the McNairs established programs at universities across the country to empower students with an understanding of free enterprise systems and with the entrepreneurial skills to create new enterprises. The McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise at the University of South Carolina serves as a model for entrepreneurism centers in higher education.