Quiet mourners lined the route of Joe Paterno’s funeral procession Wednesday in State College, Pa., watching with grief and reverence as the electric-blue hearse carrying the Penn State coach’s casket slowly drove by.
Some took pictures with their cellphones, or waved to his widow. Others craned their necks hoping for a better glimpse through the crowd sometimes four deep or more.
The private funeral and burial service capped another emotional day for a campus and community pained over Paterno’s death from lung cancer Sunday at age 85, and over the way his stellar career ended – being fired by university trustees Nov. 9 in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.
Thousands of students, alumni and fans took to the streets in and around Penn State to say their last goodbyes to the football coach who grew into a beloved figure in Happy Valley, not only for his five undefeated seasons but also for his love of the school and his generosity.
Jay Paterno, the coach’s son and quarterbacks coach, sent a message to the mourners via Twitter.
“Thank you to all the people who turned out for my father’s procession,” he wrote. “Very moving.”
The elder Paterno won two national titles and an NCAA Division I-record 409 games over 46 seasons as head coach. His cancer was disclosed just nine days after he was forced to leave the football program he had worked with since 1950.
The Wednesday service, a Roman Catholic Mass, was attended by a veritable who’s who of Penn State and Paterno connections.
Paterno’s family arrived about an hour before the funeral service on two blue school buses, the same kind the coach and his team rode to home games on fall Saturdays. His wife of nearly six decades, Sue, sat in the seat traditionally reserved for her husband and was first off the bus, followed by Jay.
Former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley walked to the service with NFL great Franco Harris. Also in attendance were other ex-NFL players, including Matt Millen and Todd Blackledge, both now TV analysts. Nike founder Phil Knight and actor William Baldwin were there, too.
Mike McQueary, the then-graduate assistant who told Paterno about the alleged assault, went both to the public viewing and the funeral. Also at the service was former athletic director Tim Curley, who along with former university official Gary Schultz, is charged with perjury and failure to notify authorities about the 2002 allegation.
They melted into the crowd on a day when Paterno was the center of attention.
EXTRA POINTS
According to a report released by Wisconsin, a male student employee accused athletic department official John Chadima of grabbing his genitals at an alcohol-fueled party while the team was at the Rose Bowl. Chadima has resigned and apologized. … Prosecutors in Castle Rock, Colo., have dismissed an assault charge against former Kansas quarterback recruit Brock Berglund after he completed community service, took a conflict management course and paid restitution of $2,935 to the alleged victim.
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