STATE COLLEGE — For decades they cheered Joe Paterno, now it’s time for Penn State students and alumni to mourn him.

Three days of public events began today as Penn Staters from State College and far beyond say goodbye to the man who led the Nittany Lions to 409 wins over 46 years.

Paterno died of lung cancer on Sunday, learning of his diagnosis in November just days after he was fired in the aftermath of the child sex-abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno’s son, Scott, says that despite the turmoil, Paterno remained peaceful and upbeat in his final days and still loved the school.

Big crowds are expected to show their love for Paterno over the next few days, with a 10-hour public viewing beginning at 1 p.m. today.

The viewing will be on campus at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. After another public viewing on Wednesday, Paterno’s family will hold a private funeral service, followed by a procession that will run through State College.

Then, on Thursday, the school’s basketball arena will be the site of a public service called “A Memorial for Joe.” Penn State expects a huge demand for seats and set a two-per-person limit for those ordering tickets.

The winningest coach in major college football history, Paterno was fired Nov. 9 after he was criticized over his handling of child sex-abuse allegations leveled against Sandusky in 2002.

Bitterness over Paterno’s removal has turned up in many forms, from online postings to a note placed next to Paterno’s statue at the football stadium blaming the trustees for his death. A newspaper headline that read “FIRED” was crossed out and made to read, “Killed by Trustees.”

Lanny Davis, lawyer for the school’s board, said threats have been made against the trustees.

However, Scott Paterno, stressed that his father did not die with a broken heart and did not harbor resentment toward Penn State.

Joe Paterno was upbeat and confident in his final days.

Scott Paterno said his father was “serenely calm,” before his death, antsy to leave the hospital so he could start planning a vacation with his wife, Sue.

Scott Paterno said his father’s health had deteriorated by Friday afternoon, prompting the family to announce Saturday that the 85-year-old Paterno was in serious condition. He died the following morning.

“He wanted his family in his room. He wanted to be around people. He wanted to talk,” the son said.

“He wanted to have people, even when he had trouble speaking, he wanted people around him talking. How are your kids? It was so natural. It was like we were having dinner around the kitchen table. It just happened to be his hospital bed.”

And, he said: “Even at the end when it was clear that he passed a line of no return, it was never a moment of bitterness. It was never a moment of fear. He was serenely calm, even right up to the end.”

The Paternos would have been married six decades this year. Along with their five children, Sue Paterno was at her husband’s bedside at Mount Nittany Medical Center when he died.

“If there’s any message I think my father would pass on to everybody at this point, it’s ‘let’s build this thing up.’ He was so positive and so confident at the end of his life that the things that were important about this place would endure.

“And that’s why he was at peace,” Scott Paterno said, before joking, “That, and (that) my mother was willing to put up with him all these years.”

The Paternos’ plans for a long promised six-week honeymoon trip were snatched away by the disease that took his life.

How long was the actual honeymoon? A three-day trip to Virginia Beach with a stop to see a recruit on the way down.

Paterno re-entered the hospital on Jan. 13, with his family fully expecting him to return home despite his increased frailty.

They thought it was simply a matter of getting him stabilized.

As recently as last Wednesday, Paterno was counting on his fingers the number of days he had been in the hospital, hoping to get out.

Though the old coach was on a respirator that made it difficult to talk, it didn’t stop him from teasing Scott on Thursday about his weight. Again. his father playfully pointed to his son’s belly.

“He did that every time,” Scott Paterno said.

There were no balloons or flowers in Paterno’s room. His son suspects his mother sent them to other patients in the hospital.

But there was a Penn State sweat shirt in there.

“His life is Penn State through and through,” Scott Paterno said, speaking of his father in the present tense. “He understood that and it never once occurred to him to be bitter toward Penn State.”

‘If there’s any message I think my father would pass on to everybody at this point, it’s ‘let’s build this thing up.’ He was so positive and so confident at the end of his life that the things that were important about this place would endure.’

Scott Paterno