Source: Bill Clark / Getty
Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, has died after a battle with brain cancer, according to a statement from The White House Office Of The Vice President. He was just 46 years old.
In a heartbreaking statement, the Vice President 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.”
“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,” Vice President Biden said.
Beau Biden, full name Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III, previously served as Delaware’s attorney general, and had considered a run for governor of the state, ABC News reports. During his years as a prosecutor, he took an aggressive stance against child sex crimes, getting nearly 200 predator convictions, CNN reports.
“Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known” – Vice President Joe Biden
A veteran of the Iraq War, Beau Biden suffered a mild stroke in 2010. Three years later, he was hospitalized after feeling “weak and disoriented,” ABC reports. Doctors would later remove a small lesion from his brain in 2013. Tragically, the cancer returned this Spring.
The death of his son is the second major family tragedy Vice President Biden has suffered in his life. In 1972, his first wife Neilia and his 3-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident when their vehicle was struck by a tractor trailer, the New York Times reports. Beau, who was 3 years old at the time, and his brother Hunter were both injured in the crash, but survived.
Source: Mark Wilson / Getty
President Obama also released a statement Saturday regarding the news:
“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.”
We are so deeply saddened to hear the news and send our deepest condolences to the Vice President and his family in this heartbreaking time. We continue to pray for the day when a cure for cancer will be found.
Until then, rest in paradise Beau.
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