Joe Paterno, the former Penn State football coach whose on-field success was marred by a locker-room child sex scandal, died on Sunday. He was 85 years old.

The longtime coach's family announced the death in a prepared statement indicating that Paterno passed away some time in the morning.

"His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled," the family said in a statement. "He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community."

He leaves behind a wife, five children and 17 grandchildren.

News of Paterno's death comes just more than two months after his son Scott announced that the revered coach had lung cancer, which he said was diagnosed during a check-up for a bronchial illness.

Mount Nittany Medical Center confirmed lung cancer was the cause of death. Paterno died at 9:25 a.m.

"His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled," his family wrote in the statement.

Paterno's health seemed to worsen in the new year when he was hospitalized for minor complications related to his cancer treatments. He trembled and whispered through a recent interview with The Washington Post.

The character described as frail in that interview stands in stark contrast to the vigorously positive person who won 409 games and groomed more than 250 of his players for the NFL. Some found it hard to believe it was the same man.

The last few months, in particular, ushered in seismic personal charges for Paterno who has built a reputation on being the "winningest" coach in major college football history.

In early November, Paterno was fired from his post at Penn State for not contacting police in 2002, after he was told a child had been molested inside the school's football complex.

"I didn't know which way to go," he told The Washington Post's Sally Jenkins.

Former Penn State defensive co-ordinator Jerry Sandusky was eventually charged with sexually assaulting 10 boys over a 15-year period. As the scandal unfolded, two university officials were also charged with perjury in relation to the case.

Attention soon turned to Paterno who had been told by graduate assistant Mike McQueary that an alleged rape occurred in a shower stall on Penn State's campus. Paterno was criticized for failing to call police and waiting a day before telling school authorities.

"I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it," he said in the Post interview.

University officials fired Paterno in November, ending a 46 year career during which the coach had tried to emphasize integrity, sportsmanship and "success with honour."

During his tenure, several detractors said they didn't like Paterno's sometimes strong personality or disapproved of how long he had stayed in his position. But before he was enveloped by scandal, the criticism had mostly been dwarfed by admiration.

"He teaches us about really just growing up and being a man," former linebacker Paul Posluszny, now with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, once said. "Besides the football, he's preparing us to be good men in life."

Paterno's family said they, too, will remember him as a mentor and friend.

"To his children and grandchildren he is a shining example of how to live a good, decent and honest life, a standard to which we aspire," they wrote.

Although the death certificate lists the medical cause of his death, friends and former colleagues believe there were other factors -- the kind that wouldn't appear on the records.

"You can die of heartbreak. I'm sure Joe had some heartbreak, too," said 82-year-old Bobby Bowden, the former Florida State coach who retired two years ago after 34 seasons in Tallahassee.

Longtime Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said he suspected "the emotional turmoil of the last few weeks might have played into it."

And Mickey Shuler, who played tight end for Paterno from 1975 to 1977, held his alma mater accountable.

"I don't think that the Penn State that he helped us to become and all the principles and values and things that he taught were carried out in the handling of his situation," he said.