A private funeral service follows another public viewing.
Mourners streamed again this morning to the spot on the Penn State University campus where legendary coach Joe Paterno's casket rests.A second day of mourning at University Park, Pa., will culminate this afternoon with a private funeral service. Paterno's family and his casket will be escorted about 3 p.m. from the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.
Jason Martin, 37, of Macungie, stood in line this morning with friends from the Lehigh Valley. They made the trip Tuesday afternoon to pay their respects to Paterno and his family.
"I felt like a part of my childhood died the other day," said Martin, a 1992 graduate of Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pa. "You grew up watching Penn State. When you say Penn State, you say Joe Paterno in the same sentence. The two go together."Jim Serfass, 35, a Freedom grad who now lives in Lancaster, Pa., said Paterno's 61 years at Penn State, including 46 as head coach, likely will never be duplicated anywhere.
"There's probably never going to be a college that starts this small and gets that big," Serfass said amid a cluster of buildings beside the spiritual center. "Honestly, I don't think anyone has in this day and age the patience and loyalty to a program. It's all business."Ashley Carrigan, a 21-year-old from Bethlehem who is a student at Northampton Community College, said she believes Paterno's legacy of excellence will override any of the scandal from the Jerry Sandusky case that has smeared Penn State's reputation.
"(Paterno) said he should have done more, which I agree with," said Carrigan. "He was a good man who loved doing what he did."
Said Martin, Carrigan's half-brother, "Even though Joe Paterno is an icon, he's still a human being. And human beings do make mistakes."Marc Sherry, 35, of Bethlehem, said he preferred to remember the thousands of lives Paterno affected for the good as he built a career as an educator and the winningest major college football coach in history.
"Joe Paterno has been an icon since the days I was a youngster," said Sherry, a 1999 Penn State alum. "My dad was a Penn State fan. My brother was a Penn State fan. I became a Penn State fan. I thought it would be neat to come up, pay tribute and see all the memorials to him."Penn State roommates Jonathan Blake and Nils Larson, both freshmen from Williams Township, paid their respects at Paterno's casket about 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Blake said he was surprised to be greeted by Jay Paterno, Joe's son and one of the many Penn State football coaches who aren't being retained under new coach Bill O'Brien.
"We got to shake (Jay Paterno's) hand and say a few words to him," Blake, an elementary education major, said today. "(I) thought it was a really nice sign of respect that he would be there that late for the students, alumni and everyone who went to the viewing."The procession this afternoon will head east from the spiritual center, go past Beaver Stadium then head west along College Avenue, which is one of State College's main thoroughfares. Thousands are expected to line the route.
Students are organizing a white-out, asking everyone to wear white and stand along the campus route, arms linked.
Paterno, 85, died Sunday of lung cancer, about two months after being ousted from his 46-year perch as Penn State's head coach.
A 10-hour public viewing period Tuesday drew more than 10,000 people.
A memorial service is set for Thursday afternoon at the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State professors have the option of canceling or rescheduling classes Thursday so students can attend the memorial service. Free tickets ran out within minutes Tuesday.
The memorial service will be televised on the Big Ten Network and BTN.com.