The office of the Vice President delivered tragic news over the weekend: Joseph Biden III, son of VP Joe Biden, has just died. He was 46.
Affectionately called Beau, he succumbed to brain cancer that was diagnosed less than two years ago after he developed weakness and disorientation while on a holiday. In the first instance, in 2013, he was given a clean bill of health after he underwent the needed treatment. However, about a year after, it recurred. Although he pursued stronger treatments, they weren't able to save his life.
Around three years before his diagnosis, he suffered a stroke, which, fortunately, didn't damage his motor skills including speaking. When he was a young boy, he met a serious car accident that killed his sibling, Naomi, and his mother, Neilia Hunter. Joe Biden eventually remarried to Jill, who is now the Second Lady of the United States.
Upon his death, Beau left behind his wife, Hallie and his children, Hunter and Natalie.
Beau has been a common and influential person working alongside his father especially during his campaigns, although he himself worked on his political career. After serving in Iraq, he ran for the position of attorney general in Delaware, which he won by only a mere margin. In 2009, he was already poised to run for senator in the state, but he let go of it so he could continue being an attorney general and take charge of the prosecution of one of the biggest child molestation cases.
In 2010, he ran and won again the position of attorney general. In 2014, he had sent a letter to his supporters, saying he's no longer planning to run for a third time as attorney general but rather seek the position of governor in the state in 2016.
President Barack Obama paid a tribute to Beau by quoting a line from William Butler Yeats, a legendary Irish poet.
