The death of former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, or JoePa to die hard fans, has created its share of second guessing surrounding what amounts now to a tainted legacy. Barely noted deep within the obituaries lies an interesting fact that draws parallels with another former coaching legend, Paul "Bear" Bryant, the famed Alabama coach. Both men died shortly after coaching their last game; Bryant's passing came one month after his last game while Paterno died three months after coaching finale. Interestingly enough both icons played the University of Illinois in their final official games. Bryant tends to get a pass but for the record did exhibit rogue behavior by betting on games. Widely known at the time, it wasn't reported at length publicly -- or at least it didn't catch Twitter fire. Different time, different era.
This coincidence points back to history's most famous death pairing when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the nation's 50th birthday. On parallel paths their entire lives, Adams gave rise to Jefferson by having him write the Declaration of Independence ("John Adams," David McCullough.) Adams could have done it himself but knew Jefferson was a more eloquent writer and known figure. Adams also is reportedly to have spoken Jefferson's name moments prior to his death. As an aside, both men were widowed and did not remarry.
These iconic examples point back to those that we all have known who have worked in jobs for so long that their personal identities have suffered when the job changed or went away. We all have known examples of retirees who once they hung up the coat were done with working or learning new things. Our message is simple: Don't be one of these people. Pursue a calling, work hard at your job -- whatever it may be -- and be present and available to family and friends. Oh, and keep the faith, too.
If you can think of any other interesting famous death pairings, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading,
JG
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