Delawareans remembered the life of full, but all too short life of former Attorney General Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III. Biden died of brain cancer over the weekend.
The vice president’s office announced the following schedule;
On Thursday, Beau will lie in honor at Legislative Hall in Dover, Delaware between1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
On Friday, a viewing will be held at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, between 1 and – 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Saturday at 10:30 AM ET, there will be a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church in Wilmington, Delaware. President Obama will deliver a eulogy in honor of Beau Biden at this mass, DelawareOnLine.com report.
Burial will be at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery, where his mother and sister are buried. Both died in a traffic accident that severely injured Beau Biden, the Catholic News Service reported.
On behalf of the Biden family, Hallie Biden has requested that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a contribution in memory of Beau Biden do so to the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children at: www.beaubidenfoundation.org. See related story on the foundation that will be under the auspices of the Delaware Community Foundation.
A private Mass for family was to be celebrated for the family on Thursday at St. Joseph Church on the Brandywine in Greenville.
Biden was 46. He had been in Walter Reed Military Medical Center for treatment. Gov. Jack Markell, New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon and Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams ordered flags to be lowered to half staff.
He was the eldest son of Vice President Joe Biden and a major in the Delaware National Guard.
Delawareans, from all sides of the political spectrum, responded to the news by remembering Biden in social media posts. All mentioned his warmth and strong character, qualities that sometimes do not make their way to sons of prominent families.
The Biden family offered the following remembrance:
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.
Biden decided against running for third term and instead announced he would prepare for a run for the office of governor.
Health issues had swirled around Biden and his expected candidacy for governor, since he was treated in Houston Texas at a world-renowned M.D. Anderson cancer center in 2013. After that time, public appearances were infrequent, although by all accounts, he had gone into remission.
A private man, Biden, unlike his father, did not relish the spotlight. He was known to be warm and gracious in small groups , and when asked to be on center stage at events liked the Democratic National Convention, he drew praise.
US Sen. Carper, a contemporary of Biden’s father offered, the following remembrance:
“I first met Beau when he was six years old. He was the son that any of us would be proud to call our own. It’s been a privilege to watch him grow up and become a leader in our state and in the Delaware National Guard. My last memory of Beau was during the Return Day Parade in Georgetown, Delaware two days after last November’s election. I was walking along the parade route shaking hands with people just as Beau passed by, standing in a National Guard vehicle, waiving at the crowd. For a moment, our eyes met, he waived to me and I to him. Then, he mouthed these words to me, ‘I love you.’ I smiled and returned them to him. And, he was gone.”
Gov. Jack Markell offered the following:
“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. 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 was also a friend. He was unfailingly interested in the well being of Carla, my kids and my extended family. My entire family is shattered by his death.”
Biden was an officer in the Delaware National Guard and served overseas. “It is with great sorrow and heavy hearts that we share the news of the loss of a great leader, Maj. Beau Biden,” a National Guard Facebook post stated.
And president Barack Obama had this to say:
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.”
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.
