The son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has died.
Beau Biden, the 46-year-old former state attorney general of the northeastern state of Delaware died Saturday after battling brain cancer for several years. The vice president's oldest son also served in the military for one year in Iraq.
Vice President Biden said in a statement that “it is with broken hearts” that he and his family “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 Biden Mourns Loss of Son
Biden had been receiving treatment for the disease this month at Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington.
Vice President Biden said “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.”
The vice president said of his son that “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.”
Biden said his son “was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.”
President Barack Obama said “Michelle and I are grieving tonight.” He said they “humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth.”
The president said “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.”