Last of mourners pay respects to Paterno

Last of mourners pay respects to Paterno

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The last of thousands of mourners have paid their respects to Penn State’s Joe Paterno at a two-day public viewing for the legendary coach.

Thousands of people streamed past Paterno’s casket for four hours this morning before a private funeral scheduled for this afternoon.

Mourners began entering a campus spiritual center around 7:40 a.m., with the line stretching down the block and through police barricades. The last of the mourners entered just after 11:30 a.m. before the doors were closed.

Some waited three hours or more in the pre-dawn cold for the opportunity to pass by the Hall of Famer’s casket.

Paterno died Sunday, two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. A campus memorial service is scheduled for Thursday.