Mourners Pay Tribute to Paterno During Funeral Procession STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The blue Cadillac hearse carrying Joe Paterno made its way through streets lined with thousands of mourners who tossed flowers, took photographs or simply waved goodbye as his funeral procession rolled through the Penn State campus and downtown along College Avenue on Wednesday. Standing three or four deep, observers in Penn State ski caps and other blue-and-white gear stood shoulder to shoulder along a route that wound past Beaver Stadium, where Paterno led the Nittany Lions football team for decades; the library bearing Paterno's name; and the shops and restaurants downtown. The procession eased to a stop at Pine Hall Cemetery, the final resting place for Paterno, who died Sunday from lung cancer at age 85. The procession was the latest in a series of remembrances for Paterno, who this season set the Division I record for victories by a football coach. Paterno transformed the university and the football program in 46 seasons as coach before he was fired Nov. 9 in the wake of a child sexual abuse scandal involving the former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. After a private service on campus, the procession made its way through campus. Following the hearse was one of the famous blue school buses that transport the Penn State football team to Beaver Stadium before home games. Paterno's wife, Sue, sat in the front seat usually occupied by Paterno. The crowd was silent as the procession passed. Paterno's son Jay, the former Penn State quarterbacks coach, wrote on Twitter: "Thank you to all the people who turned out for my father's procession. Very moving. Franco Harris and Todd Blackledge were among the former and current players who attended the funeral. Also in attendance was the former athletic director Tim Curley, who along with another former university official was charged with failure to report to the police an alleged 2002 assault by Sandusky. They were also charged with perjury. Paterno was not charged but was criticized for not notifying the police what he knew about the 2002 incident, but the scandal seemed to have been an afterthought among mourners this week. The focus has instead been on Paterno's many on- and off-field contributions to Penn State, where he started as an assistant coach in 1950. A day after an estimated 27,000 showed up for a viewing of Paterno, students, alumni and fans stood for hours in the frigid cold while waiting to glimpse the hearse, some standing on rooftops downtown or craning their necks out their windows. At one point on College Avenue, a sign hanging from a balcony read, "We Love You Joe."