Beau Biden was deemed as a rising political figure in the U.S. but he was also seen as someone who has been struggling with his health in recent years. He made an announcement in 2014 about his plan to run for governor of Delaware in 2016. The announcement was made in an email to supporters where he also indicated that he has no intent to seek re-election for the post of Delaware attorney general.
Beau Biden held the said post for eight years before joining Grant & Eisenhofer, an investor law firm, in 2015. Recently, the company announced that Biden would also be working on behalf of whistleblower clients, although Biden gave no further comment.
Earlier in May, 46-year-old Beau Biden was taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just outside Washington, where he sought aggressive treatment for a recurring cancer. His family was beside him when he passed away.
It was in August 2013 when Biden was diagnosed with brain cancer. He had undergone a number of procedures such as radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. In November of the same year, he was declared as having a "clean bill of health." However, his cancer recurred this year in the spring.
Prior to being diagnosed with brain cancer, Biden also suffered a mild stroke back in 2010. He was 41 at that time.
Less than two years after he was diagnosed with brain cancer, Biden passed away on Saturday. He was survived by his wife Hallie, their two children, Hunter and Natalie, his father and stepmother, a sister and brother, a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and three nieces.
"Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did," said Joe Biden. "We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us. Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known."
"I think he would have run. I think he would have won," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who is also a fellow Democrat. He added that the last time he spoke to Biden was in February at a meeting of Democratic governors held in Washington, D.C.
President Obama and the first lady went to the Naval Observatory to visit the Bidens and share their condolences.
"Beau Biden believed the best of us all," said Obama. "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."
