Beau Biden Dies: Vice President Joe Biden's Son Loses Battle To Cancer At 46

Last Saturday May 30, Joseph R. Biden III, the former attorney general of Delaware, lost his battle to brain cancer, as his father, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. announced. Reports indicated the young Mr. Biden had suffered a mild stroke in 2010, but was admitted to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 2013 in what the White House called, “an episode of disorientation and weakness.” The announcement of his passing was given by his father through a statement released late last night:

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.

This is the second devastating loss the Vice President has suffered. His first being the loss of wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi in 1972, after a fatal car accident on their way to do Christmas shopping, in which Beau and brother Hunter were also hurt, but both survived.

President Barack Obama also released a moving statement saying, “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.” And affirming Beau was “just like his dad,” and Joe Biden is “is one of the strongest men they’ve ever known.”