Early Life and Family
Sandusky was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, the only son of Evelyn Mae (née Lee), an Irish Catholic homemaker who came from a small Pennsylvania coal-mining town, and Arthur Sandusky, whose parents, Edward and Josephine Sendecki, had immigrated from Poland to East Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. His father Arthur served in the field of youth service programs for over 30 years, mostly as director of the Brownson House in Washington, Pennsylvania, a community recreation center for children. There, he founded the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling program and created junior basketball, volleyball, boxing and football programs for the Brownson House. He improved the facilities there by adding a new playground, gym, outdoor basketball court, and a renovated football field. He managed the 1955 Washington baseball team that won the Pony League World Series championship, the only team from Washington to win that championship. Arthur was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
At home, Jerry Sandusky adopted his own personal law called "Jer's Law" that he stuck to for many years. The rules adopted were that Sandusky could be mischievous but not to the point where someone could be intentionally hurt, he also vowed to not be disrespectful to his teachers and swear to himself that he would tell the truth if he was caught breaking any rules.
Sandusky attended Washington High School, where he was a good student and standout athlete, playing baseball, basketball, and football. He was a leader on his junior high basketball team that went undefeated through the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League. His classmates have described him as a studious "loner" who "never dated in high school" but was a popular and handsome athlete. Sandusky later considered studying in the Eighth Grade as the most important time in his life where he knew how important it was to grow up.
Sandusky married Dorothy "Dottie" (née Gross) in 1966, and together they have six adopted children. Sandusky and his wife have also served as foster parents. One of Sandusky's sons, Jon Sandusky, is Director of Player Personnel for the Cleveland Browns. Another son, E. J. Sandusky, is an assistant football coach at West Chester University. Sandusky described his family as "old fashioned" with Dottie being the leader.
Matt Sandusky, adopted son and former foster child of Sandusky's, released a statement through his attorneys saying that Sandusky had sexually molested him as a child. Matt Sandusky's statement was released on the day the jury began deliberations in the sex abuse trial against Sandusky.
Read more about this topic: Jerry Sandusky
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or family:
“It is so very late that we
May call it early by and by. Good night.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Undershaft: Alcohol is a very necessary article. It heals the sick—Barbara: It does nothing of the sort. Undershaft: Well, it assists the doctor: that is perhaps a less questionable way of putting it. It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“It is as when a migrating army of mice girdles a forest of pines. The chopper fells trees from the same motive that the mouse gnaws them,—to get his living. You tell me that he has a more interesting family than the mouse. That is as it happens.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)