Joe Biden's Son Dead At 46 After Battle With Brain Cancer

Vice president Joe Biden and the rest of the White House family are mourning the death of Biden's eldest son, Joseph "Beau" Biden, who died from brain cancer over the weekend.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Beau passed on Saturday. Surrounded by his family and friends, the attorney general of Delaware faced health complications since 2010, when at the age of 41 suffered a mild stroke. In 2012, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. With treatments, the Iraq war veteran's cancer was gone but returned this spring.
President Obama released a statement Saturday evening on Beau and spoke on the strength of his vice president and friend Joe Biden.
"Michelle and I are grieving tonight. Beau Biden was a friend of ours. His beloved family — Hallie, Natalie and Hunter — are friends of ours," he said. "And Joe and Jill Biden are as good as friends get. Beau Biden believed the best of us all. For him, and for his family, we swing our lanterns higher."
Biden lost his first wife Neilia Hunter along with daughter Naomi in a car accident in 1972. Beau and his younger brother Hunter survived the crash. Biden has shared the story through his campaign with President Obama in 2008. Another moment remembered by supporters was when Biden was sworn in the Senate in 1973 while he stood by a Beau's bedside.
Biden's sons later encouraged him to find love again after their mother's death. He married Jill Jacobs in 1977 who became their stepmother and wife of the vice president. While his life as a single father was short, author Richard Ben Cramer, says Biden was a full time father above his political duties.
"Joe was the parent. Period. No confusion," Cramer wrote. "Joe didn't want anybody else raising his kids, thanks. He was there every night, every weekend. They had stories at bedtime, games of catch on the lawn, outings, trips, places to go."
Biden released his own statement about the loss of his son.
"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."
Beau is survived by his wife Halie and their two children Hunter and Natalie.
 
Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Photo Credit: Screenshot