Beau Biden, Former Delaware Attorney General and Son of Vice President Joe Biden, Succumbs to Brain Cancer
By Juanita Bratcher
Beau Biden, former Delaware Attorney General and son of Vice President Joe Biden, succumbed to cancer this weekend. He was 46 years old.
In announcing his son’s death, Vice President Joe Biden said: “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.
“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’s life was defined by service to others. 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.”
President Barack Obama said Beau Biden was a friend. “Michelle and I are grieving tonight. Beau Biden was a friend of ours. His beloved family – Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter – are friends of ours. And Joe and Jill Biden are as good as friends get.
“Beau took after Joe. 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.
“But for all that Beau Biden achieved in his life, nothing made him prouder; nothing made him happier; nothing claimed a fuller focus of his love and devotion than his family.
“Just like his dad.
“Joe is one of the strongest men we’ve ever known. He’s as strong as they come, and nothing matters to him more than family. It’s one of the things we love about him. And it is a testament to Joe and Jill – to who they are – that Beau lived a life that was full; a life that mattered; a life that reflected their reverence for family.
“The Bidens have more family than they know. In the Delaware they love. In the Senate Joe reveres. Across this country that he has served for more than forty years. And they have a family right here in the White House, where hundreds of hearts ache tonight – for Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter; for Joe and for Jill; for Beau’s brother, Hunter; his sister, Ashley, and for the entire Biden clan.
“I have believed the best of every man,†wrote the poet William Butler Yeats, “And find that to believe it is enough to make a bad man show him at his best or even a good man swing his lantern higher.â€
“Beau Biden believed the best of us all. For him, and for his family, we swing our lanterns higher.
“Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth,” said President Obama.
U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) released the following statement after hearing of the passing of Beau Biden:
In memory of former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she was “greatly saddened to learn of Beau Biden’s passing. “I was fortunate to work with Beau during his two terms serving as Attorney General of Delaware. Beau always stood up for what he believed in on behalf of the people of his state and for our country. Not only was he an exemplary colleague and public servant, he was a terrific person. His passing is a devastating loss to his family, his state and our nation. My thoughts and prayers are with his entire family.”
Draft Biden, an organization whose purpose is to draft Joe Biden for president in 2016, sent their “deepest condolences” on the passing of Beau Biden.
“His passing is not just a loss for the Biden family but the nation. We remember him for his service to our country specifically the state of Delaware. A lawyer by training, Beau Biden joined the Delaware National Guard in 2003 and served as a Major in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He also served two terms as Delaware’s Attorney General.
“We send our deepest condolences to the Biden family for their loss. Not only was Beau Biden a passionate and dedicated public servant, but he was known to be a a passionate and dedicated son, husband, and father.”
As posted in Wikipedia:
Beau Biden was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the elder son of former U.S. Senator and current Vice President Joe Biden, and his first wife, Neilia Hunter. His mother and younger sister, Naomi Christina Biden, were killed in an automobile accident in 1972, in which he and his brother Hunter were seriously injured. He and his brother encouraged his father to marry again,[1] and Jill Jacobs became Beau’s stepmother in 1977. His half-sister Ashley was born in 1981.[2]
He graduated from Archmere Academy, his father’s high school alma mater, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He was also a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, as is his father. From 1995 to 2004, he worked at the United States Department of Justice in Philadelphia, first as Counsel to the Office of Policy Development and later as a Federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In 2004, he became a partner in the law firm of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Balick, where he worked for two years before being elected Delaware attorney general.[3]
He had two children with his wife Hallie: a daughter, Natalie, and a son, Hunter.[4][5]
