The applause for Jay Paterno started before he spoke a word.

When Joe Paterno’s son reached the podium, he received a standing ovation from the audience of the Bryce Jordan Center. Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, have five children and 17 grandchildren.

Jay said he is proud when he looks at his driver’s license and reads the name “Joseph Vincent Paterno, Jr.” — named after his father.

Jay coached the football team alongside Joe for 17 years, 12 of which he spent coaching the quarterbacks. He lettered as a senior in 1989 and was a member of the 1986 national championship team.

Jay went on to share a number of anecdotes from his father’s life.

Decades ago, while a student at Brooklyn Prep, Joe Paterno ran into his friend, William Blatty, who later wrote The Exorcist, on the street, Jay said. Blatty was upset after losing a singing competition, so Joe asked him if he believed he won. When Blatty said yes, Joe told him that was all he needed, Jay said. Jay said that even at a younger age, Joe knew excellence was defined internally.

Jay used the opportunity to thank the thousands of people who offered support to his family over the last few days. He said people from five different continents spoke to him and his family, a sign of how far-reaching Joe Paterno’s support extended.

“He never sought celebrity,” Jay said. “Here is a man whose fame was accidental.”

But Joe’s support will not end, even in his death, Jay said.

Jay asked former and current members of the Penn State football team in the audience to stand.

“Your lives are his legacy,” Jay told his father’s football teams.

The crowd greeted the comment with a round of applause.

Jay also told the crowd that he is proud of the millions of dollars his parents donated to the university and the millions more they were able to solicit from others.

“If we paint Joe and Sue Paterno on every building they helped raise money for, we will need a lot of paint,” Jay said.

Joe has forwarded the torch of his motto “make an impact” to others, Jay said.

The examples of philanthropy at Penn State are all around, he said. Penn State students raise millions of dollars each year to help others. Those students apply Joe Paterno’s motto, he said.

No matter how many games the late football coach won, that number mattered least to Joe, Jay said.

On his 85th birthday, when Joe was surrounded by many of his family members, Jay said his father told them how blessed he was for his life.

While his father was dying of complications from treatment for his lung cancer, Jay said he desired one more lesson from him.

“He had no more advice to give. All I wanted was to hear one more word, to hear his voice,” Jay said. “His presence alone gave me one last lesson.”

Jay also let the audience at the memorial in on some of the final words he spoke to his father.

“Dad, you won. You did all you could do. You’ve done enough,” Jay recalled saying. “We all love you. You won. You can go home now.'”

Jay told the audience that after every football game, Joe and his team knelt and prayed the Lord’s Prayer — a favorite of Joe’s, Jay said, because it emphasized words like “our” and “we” over “I” and “me.” He asked the audience to do that one last time, for Joe. Thousands of people in attendance at the BJC joined hands as Jay led the prayer.

After thanking the audience for their support one last time, the Paterno family filed out of the BJC amid another round of applause.