JOE PATERNO - LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER, GRANDFATHER, COACH, EDUCATOR, HUMANITARIAN - DEAD AT 85
Joseph Vincent
“Joe” “JoePa” Paterno of State College, PA, passed away at 9:25
am on January 22, 2012. According to the
Mount Nittany Medical Center his cause of death was metastatic small cell
carcinoma of the lung. In their statement announcing his death, his family shared:
"His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled…He was a
man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.”
Paterno was born in 1926
in Brooklyn, NY, to Florence and Angelo Paterno and is survived by his wife,
the former Suzanne Pohland of Latrobe, PA, their five children, Mrs. Diana
Giegerich, Mrs. Mary Kathryn Hort, David, Jay, George, and seventeen
grandchildren.
Joe Paterno was
committed to education from a very early age.
When he was inducted in to the National Italian American Sports Hall of
Fame in 1987, he was quoted as saying: "When I was young, I used to see my
father studying late at night to pass high school, college, and even law school."
After serving in the
United States Army, Paterno attended Brown University on a scholarship,
graduating with a degree in English Literature while excelling in football as a
quarterback and defensive back. His goal
was to continue at Brown, entering Law School, but his Brown University
football coach, Charles Engle, asked Paterno to become one of his Assistant
Coaches at Penn State, a decision that changed Paterno’s professional path.
During his tenure as
a coach at Penn State University, Paterno coached teams won 433 total games,
both regular season and bowl games. Penn
State earned two National Collegiate Athletic Association National
Championships and one Big Ten Championship with Paterno as their head coach. His statistics were not just limited to wins
on the football field. Forty-seven of
his players earned Academic All-American status, and more than 250 of his
players became professional football players.
Joe and Suzanne
Paterno are also widely recognized for their philanthropy. In 1997, they gave
the university $3.5 million for faculty positions, scholarships, and two
building projects. As co - chairs of the
campaign to expand the Pattee Library of the Penn State University Library
System, they raised $14 million and personally donated $250,000. The Paterno Family Humanities Reading Room of
the Pattee Library is named after the Joe Paterno family. During the ceremony to name the new wing of
the library, Joe said: "I've said it a hundred times -- a great library is
the heart of a great university, and if we want to remain a big league
university, we've got to have a big league library." According to Sue Paterno "Joe and I have
always said that you can't have a great university without a great library."
Joe Paterno earned a
number of honors during his lifetime in a variety of areas. Several of these awards are:
In 1986, Paterno was
the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, an honor given for both
sportsmanship and achievement.
In 1999, the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) awarded Joe Paterno its National Heritage Award
for his humanitarianism and philanthropy.
During the ceremony to honor Paterno, the Regional Director of the ADL,
Barry Morrison told the audience:
Coach Paterno is an
outstanding role model, mentor and leader; humanitarian and philanthropist…He
has helped build champions both on and off the field through his ongoing
commitment to the values that the ADL stands for -- equality, dignity,
educational achievement, tolerance and diversity.
In 2006 Joe Paterno
was elected to the College Football Hall of fame.
During the last year
of his life, Joe Paterno’s former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky was
implicated in a child sex abuse scandal.
He was arrested on November 5, 2011, and charged with 40 criminal counts. While Paterno was not part of the criminal
investigation, a 2011 Grand Jury review of the details of the crimes indicated
Paterno and other Penn State executives failed to act thoroughly on information presented to them in 2001. On Wednesday,
November 9th, Joe Paterno resigned as the head football coach of the
Penn State Nittany Lions. In the
statement he released, Paterno said:
I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal
in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who
have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the
end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a
single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to
address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.
This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the
benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
Later that same day,
the Board of Trustees of Penn State University fired Joe Paterno and University
President Graham Spanier. During a press
conference to announce the firings, Board Vice-Chairman, John Surma, told
reporters “The Penn State board of trustees tonight decided it is in the best
interest of the university to have a change in leadership to deal with the
difficult issues that we are facing.”
Many people are expressing their tributes
to Joe Paterno.
Mount Nittany
Medical Center Announcement: The leadership and staff of Mount Nittany Health
System are saddened by the passing of legendary coach Joe Paterno. Coach
Paterno was a tireless advocate for the health system, serving as both a donor
and a fundraiser for many of The Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center's charitable
programs, and was a leader in our community for more than sixty years. His
contributions, in time, talent and treasure, have been immeasurable, and he
will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with the Paterno family during this
difficult time.
Tom Bradley, former
Penn State football player, former assistant coach and interim Penn State head
coach: “He was a tremendous teacher not because he knew all of the answers but
because he challenged us to find the answers for ourselves…He made us better men
than we believed we could be -- both on and off the field. And when we lost our
way or became unsure of ourselves, it was Coach Paterno who was there to
encourage us, guide us and remind us that we must always strive to succeed with
honor.”
Ohio State University
Head Coach Urban Meyer: “I think he is the model of compliance, he is the model
for academic performance and demanding achievement by his players, and I don't
think those things will ever be matched.”
Nebraska athletic director and former head coach Tom Osborne: "I am saddened to hear the news of Joe Paterno's passing. Joe was a genuinely good person. Whenever you recruited or played against Joe you knew how he operated and that he always stood for the right things. Of course, his longevity over time and his impact on college football is remarkable...We offer our condolences to his family and wish them the very best."
Penn State Trustee
Anthony Lubrano: “Joe Paterno was an educator first and a football coach
second, we should all be proud of the culture he helped create.”
The funeral
arrangements include two public viewings at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. The first viewing is scheduled on Tuesday,
Jan. 24 from 1:00-11:00 p.m. and the second viewing is scheduled on Wednesday,
Jan. 25 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00pm. There
will be a private funeral service Wednesday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m.
Following the
funeral service, at approximately 3:00pm, a procession will travel from the
Pasquerilla Spiritual Center to the Spring Creek Presbyterian Cemetery, where
the burial will be private.
On Thursday, Jan.
26, a public memorial service, “A Memorial For Joe” will be held at 2:00 p.m.
in the Bryce Jordan Center.
References
The Free Library. (1999, March 16). The anti-defamation
league honors joe paterno; pnc bank is presenting sponsor of tonight's national
heritage award dinner. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The
Anti-Defamation League Honors Joe Paterno; PNC Bank is Presenting..-a054113804
