The First State of Delaware is in Mourning! Beau Biden, 1969-2015
Former Delaware Attorney General Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, who grew up in the political spotlight because of his father's career, died Saturday night after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 46.
"It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life," Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement.
"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us – especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter."
Beau Biden was the oldest of Joe Biden's three children. He had a younger brother, Hunter, who is an attorney, and a younger sister, Ashley, who is now the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice. He lived with his wife in Greenville with their two young children.
During his two terms as attorney general, Biden was beset by health problems. He suffered a minor stroke in 2010 that kept him out of office for several weeks. In 2013 he was treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Center Center in Houston after becoming weak and disoriented on a family vacation, undergoing what a member of his medical team later described as surgery to remove a "small lesion" in his brain.
Yet after completing two terms in January, Biden said he wanted to run for governor in 2016 and in recent weeks his law firm said he had expanded his role.
But on May 20, Biden's father said he was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died Saturday.
President Barack Obama, political figures and former colleagues throughout Delaware mourned Biden's passing.
"Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth,'' the president said in a statement.
"Beau took after Joe," Obama said. "He studied the law, like his dad, even choosing the same law school. He chased a life of public service, like his dad, serving in Iraq and as Delaware's Attorney General. Like his dad, Beau was a good, big-hearted, devoutly Catholic and deeply faithful man, who made a difference in the lives of all he touched – and he lives on in their hearts."
In a statement, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell called Beau Biden a friend who was "unfailingly interested" in the well-being of the Markell family. In honor of Beau Biden, Markell has directed that the U.S. and Delaware flags be flown at half-staff until further notice.
"Carla and I are heartbroken for Hallie, his children, his parents, his siblings, and the entire Biden family. Beau spent his entire career in the service of his country and his state," Markell said. "He was an outstanding attorney general, lawyer, soldier, and father. I feel privileged to have served with him and Delaware is a better place thanks to him."
Beau's father, who was Delaware's senior senator for 36 years before becoming vice president in 2009, said his son led an exemplary life.
"Beau's life was defined by service to others," the vice president's statement said. "As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware's Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.
"More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.
"In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known."
Rest in Peace! Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III Feb. 3, 1969 till May 30, 2015
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