Joe Paterno Memorial: Jay Paterno Thankful For Support.University Park, Pa. - Jay Paterno took the podium one last time in "a monument to Joe," the public service in honor of his late father, Joe Paterno, on Thursday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center and offered some emotional words as Penn State ended its last day of mourning for his football coach long head.
Jay opened by thanking the public for the great support shown by his family in the community over the past week, and the staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center, the hospital where Paterno died Sunday at age 85. He also made a strong proclamation on the state of his father's mind in its path.
"Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience," Jay said to a standing ovation.
He then went on to speak of more than 20 minutes about his father, reflecting on their work not only as a football coach, but in helping Penn State build a university.
"He lived his life of great nobility, never blindly chasing success is defined by the changing values of the world," said Jay. "Their values and goals remain as a rock through the decades."
Your comments, and the service itself, ended with the audience joining in the Lord's Prayer, Jay said Joe used to pray with his team in the locker room after every football game, win or lose.
Jay was preceded by a speaker representing each decade from the possession of Joe training in Happy Valley. Charlie Pittman represents the 1960's. He spoke of how he almost left Penn State after his sophomore year Joe had pushed his edge. Later, he decided to stay after a talk with his father, and Thursday, reflected on what he learned from the experience.
"What we know now is that Joe was not trying to build the perfect," said Pittman. "That does not exist, and he knew it. He was slowly building a habit of excellence."
Jimmy Cefalo represented the decade of 1970 and Joe stressed the commitment of academics and their "great experiment" which sought to create successful young people in the field and off. He also marveled at how young Paterno met all kinds of different backgrounds to create a successful program before sharing the story of his recruitment to Penn State.
"Joe did not we recruit, recruit our mothers," Cefalo said. "Mine recruited as well. He spoke their language."
Cefalo proceeded to tell the story of how he returned home one night, ready to tell his parents that he had chosen a university other than Penn State, only to find Joe eat with his family. Since that night, he said, was a Penn Stater.
Todd Black ledge, QB Penn State's 1982 national championship team, spoke at the event, like Chris Brown, representative of the decade of 1990. They were followed by former quarterback Michael Robinson, who traveled to the city all the way from Hawaii, where he is currently preparing for the Pro Bowl. Robinson was warmly received by his fellow mourners, his speech frequently interrupted by applause.
"When I met Joe, that was something different about him," said Robinson. "No lie."
That line was greeted with more applause from the crowd as Robinson went on to explain all the lessons he learned from Joe, and how Robinson has learned through his life since he left Penn State in 2005 that the words of his former coach still ring true and are not the lies that others said their recruitment.
Michael Mauti player finished the observations, representing the final team of Paterno. He shared his own stories and ended the letter by thanking the attendees for their support during the tumultuous month’s lat few in Happy Valley.
"On behalf of the current team right now, this has been a difficult time for us all," said Mauti. "I just want to thank everyone. These Lettermen have set the bar of what it means to succeed with honor, and that's our job now to continue throughout this decade and coming decades to maintain that tradition,”
Jay opened by thanking the public for the great support shown by his family in the community over the past week, and the staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center, the hospital where Paterno died Sunday at age 85. He also made a strong proclamation on the state of his father's mind in its path.
"Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience," Jay said to a standing ovation.
He then went on to speak of more than 20 minutes about his father, reflecting on their work not only as a football coach, but in helping Penn State build a university.
"He lived his life of great nobility, never blindly chasing success is defined by the changing values of the world," said Jay. "Their values and goals remain as a rock through the decades."
Your comments, and the service itself, ended with the audience joining in the Lord's Prayer, Jay said Joe used to pray with his team in the locker room after every football game, win or lose.
Jay was preceded by a speaker representing each decade from the possession of Joe training in Happy Valley. Charlie Pittman represents the 1960's. He spoke of how he almost left Penn State after his sophomore year Joe had pushed his edge. Later, he decided to stay after a talk with his father, and Thursday, reflected on what he learned from the experience.
"What we know now is that Joe was not trying to build the perfect," said Pittman. "That does not exist, and he knew it. He was slowly building a habit of excellence."
Jimmy Cefalo represented the decade of 1970 and Joe stressed the commitment of academics and their "great experiment" which sought to create successful young people in the field and off. He also marveled at how young Paterno met all kinds of different backgrounds to create a successful program before sharing the story of his recruitment to Penn State.
"Joe did not we recruit, recruit our mothers," Cefalo said. "Mine recruited as well. He spoke their language."
Cefalo proceeded to tell the story of how he returned home one night, ready to tell his parents that he had chosen a university other than Penn State, only to find Joe eat with his family. Since that night, he said, was a Penn Stater.
Todd Black ledge, QB Penn State's 1982 national championship team, spoke at the event, like Chris Brown, representative of the decade of 1990. They were followed by former quarterback Michael Robinson, who traveled to the city all the way from Hawaii, where he is currently preparing for the Pro Bowl. Robinson was warmly received by his fellow mourners, his speech frequently interrupted by applause.
"When I met Joe, that was something different about him," said Robinson. "No lie."
That line was greeted with more applause from the crowd as Robinson went on to explain all the lessons he learned from Joe, and how Robinson has learned through his life since he left Penn State in 2005 that the words of his former coach still ring true and are not the lies that others said their recruitment.
Michael Mauti player finished the observations, representing the final team of Paterno. He shared his own stories and ended the letter by thanking the attendees for their support during the tumultuous month’s lat few in Happy Valley.
"On behalf of the current team right now, this has been a difficult time for us all," said Mauti. "I just want to thank everyone. These Lettermen have set the bar of what it means to succeed with honor, and that's our job now to continue throughout this decade and coming decades to maintain that tradition,”
