Coach, Thanks for making an impact on the lives of millions of Penn Staters throughout the world. You taught me how to stay loyalty with one team. Paterno could be conservative on the field, especially in big games, relying on the tried-and-true formula of defense, the running game and field position. He lived by the rules. Anybody could telephone him at his home — the same one he appeared in front of on the night he was fired — by looking up "Paterno, Joseph V." in the phone book. Rest in peace coach, we'll take it from here. Born July 15, 1941 in Boston, Dr. Paterno grew up in Salem, Massachusetts and after spending summer seasons as a child and young boy in Gilford, moved here with his family in 1955. Who's done more for his university than Joe? "You know, (McQueary) didn't want to get specific," Paterno said. Sandusky, who has maintained his innocence, lauded his former boss in a statement that said: "He maintained a high standard in a very difficult profession. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community." Get email updates about Joe Paterno delivered directly to your inbox. I will always remember your legacy in no matter what :) I am Sooners fan. Thank you for your inspiration. "I talked to him on his birthday (Dec. 21). ___ Paterno certainly had detractors. The Jones family...from Honey Brook, PA. RIP Coach Paterno! "I'd like to know," Paterno said later, "how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973, and so much about college football in 1969?" Paterno certainly had detractors. His ambitions were far-reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. It kept him pumped. I don't think that the Penn State that he helped us to become and all the principles and values and things that he taught were carried out in the handling of his situation." He won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. He said no. Please know you are not alone because many are feeling your sorrow and pain. He referred to Twitter, the social media site, as "Twittle-do, Twittle-dee." ___ I wish I could have met him. He leaves us with great stories, memories and records that may never be broken." "It's just sad because I think he died from other things than lung cancer. Our families, our football program, our university and all of college football have suffered a great loss, and we will be eternally grateful for Coach Paterno's immeasurable contributions." Like many others, he was outlasted by "JoePa." Erickson says Paterno's "dedication to ensuring his players were successful both on the field and in life is legendary." ___ In 1967, PSU began a 30-0-1 streak. On Sunday, two police officers were stationed to block traffic on the street where Paterno's modest ranch home stands next to a local park. Former players paraded through his living room for the chance to say hello. Much Love! "I had no intention to coach when I got out of Brown," Paterno said in 2007 in an interview at Penn State's Beaver Stadium before being inducted into college football's Hall of Fame. The winningest coach in major college football, Paterno roamed the Penn State sidelines for 46 seasons, his thick-rimmed glasses, windbreaker and jet-black sneakers as familiar as the Nittany Lions' blue and white uniforms. ___ "It's because I've been around a lot longer than anybody else." He graduated in 1950 with plans to go to law school. Let his work speak for him! Enjoy all who loved you and all to come to meet you one day.I can't wait to meet you when I get to the great beyond. New Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien, hired earlier this month, also offered his condolences. What a wonderful man. He said no. He taught us how to treat others and how to conduct life. The Associated Press I hope you will accept and understand the condolences from sooo many strangers. Since i was a little girl going to the Penn State games with my father. So I just did what I thought was best. He is in heaven looking down on every single one of you and he is proud of you. To coach for 60 years in one place, that just won't ever happen again. A place where character came first, championships second. From his idealistic early days, he had implemented what he called a "grand experiment" — to graduate more players while maintaining success on the field. "My first thoughts about Joe are not as a coach because he was well beyond that. This is a loss that will effect a lot of people that you or Joe don't even know, but we feel we know you and him. Thank you for being you! Family, football meant everything to Joe Paterno My husband graduated from Penn State in 1991. In his later years, physical ailments wore the old coach down. Joseph Vincent Paterno (/ pəˈtɜːrnoʊ /; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. ___ Joe will always be one of my heroes, he has meant so much to college football, and as a lifetime Penn State fan. To the Paterno Family. Now there is only 6 days in a week. He did it with his life." And, indeed, the street was quiet on a cold winter day. Thank you Joe for dedicating your life to the students and fans at Penn State University. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. He was the best and only coach that Penn State had and he will never be replaced. Please know you are all in our Prayer's. I raised my children on his teachings and although they attend college at Florida schools they both consider themselves Penn Staters. He was 85. I never played on his teams but his influence on me is tremendous. Joe Paterno was an amazing man with all the qualities anyone could ever want in a friend or associate. "Right now, I'm not the coach. He and his wife, Sue, raised five children in State College. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,that who so ever believeth in him shall not perih But have everlasting life.John:16 May God fill your sad hearts will hope in the ressrection And heal your broken hearts. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. ___ Penn St coach O'Brien: Following Paterno an honor My grand daughter graduates in May from Penn State and during her past almost four years - she has spent many many hours in the Library that Joe and Sue have supported and made it what it is today. Dear Paterno family, I pray for all of you in the loss of a one of the greatest men in the history of college football. "His legacy as the winningest coach in major college football and his generosity to Penn State as an institution and to his players, stand as monuments to his life. ___ ___ But outrage built quickly when the state's top cop said the coach hadn't fulfilled a moral obligation to go to the authorities when a graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, told Paterno he saw Sandusky with a young boy in the showers of the football complex in 2002. But I got to coach in the Big Ten, sit next to him at a meeting and have my picture taken with him. Everone admired you for you down to earth personality and you wanted the kids to get a good education and keep up on their grades as well as enjoy playing football. "He did what he thought was right with the information he had at the time," Sollers said. ___ — former Michigan State wide receiver Nigea Carter. He was the best of the best in collage football.We lost a good one but his shadow will on be will us on game day. So very sorry for your loss of a great family man and coach. You meant so much to all of us. He made sure his players got good grades. Rest in peace JoePa. He will always be loved and missed. I have never been a football fan and I did not know who Joe Paterno was, but I certainly have become a fan of JoePa since I have learned of his 61 years with Penn State. ___ Coach Paterno. I read several pages of the entries in JoPa's guest book, but my family has something else to remember what Joe and Sue did for Penn State. The winningest coach in major college football was fired from Penn State on Nov. 9 amid a child sex abuse scandal involving a former assistant. With much Love. He played quarterback and defensive back for Brown University and set a school record with 14 career interceptions, but when he graduated in 1950 he planned to go to law school. But for the most part, he stayed out of the spotlight. My husband and I will return to NW PA (Erie) after he retires from the US Army with 26 years of Active Duty service. Jay Paterno, who was his father's quarterbacks coach, was crying. I never met JoePa but always wanted to, he seemed to be a very special person. Your love for football and Penn State has given so much to so many. He walked to home games and was greeted and wished good luck by fans on the street. Paterno built a program based on the credo of "Success with Honor," and he found both. A truly wonderful, caring person. You have taught many of us, who didn't even attend the University, many things in life that you can not teach in a class room. They were both 'children of the depression'. He was about more than just football." He will truly be missed. They were undefeated and untied again in 1973 at 12-0 again but finished fifth. He says PSU will remember his "remarkable life and legacy" and plans to honor him. I have the pleasure of knowing some of your family members.. What an amazing man! They had an interesting football conversation about changing Sam from fulback to center. His coaching style often was considered too conservative. Paterno was notified by phone, not in person, a decision that board vice chairman John Surma later regretted, according to Lanny Davis, an attorney retained by the trustees as an adviser. I will miss you and the fun times spent together planning the event. Our prayers and thoughts are with you all. "We came to Penn State as young kids and when we left there we were men and the reason for that was Joe Paterno." I didn't get to coach against him. Lanny Davis, the attorney retained by trustees as an adviser, said Surma intended to extend his regrets over the phone before Paterno hung up him. I met him twice -- once as a student in Rec Hall when he held a door open for me (the second time I met him, he jokingly told me that had been his second job at the time). Remember the good times u have had with Mr. Joe. "We grieve for the loss of Joe Paterno, a great man who made us a greater university. He was a graduate of Laconia High School, Class of 1959. Paterno waited a day before alerting school officials but never went to the police. Joe Pa...though you will be missed more than words can say; the path that you started for us all will not go cold in your absence...instead all of us that you have touch and inspired in so many ways will proudly take it up and continue with you in our hearts. The boys put another win on the books today, you would surely have been so proud of these kids. He also said he was "absolutely devastated" by the abuse case. My thoughts and prayers are with the Paterno family. "This is a tragedy," he said. He was a Superb human being. And I've got to get used to that," Paterno said after the Penn State Board of Trustees fired him at the height of a child sex abuse scandal. Then a receiver bowled over Paterno at practice in August, sending him to the hospital with shoulder and pelvis injuries and consigning him to coach much of what would be his last season from the press box. "To be following in his footsteps at Penn State is an honor," O'Brien said "Our families, our football program, our university and all of college football have suffered a great loss, and we will be eternally grateful for coach Paterno's immeasurable contributions."