Beau Biden saluted for life of service

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, Del.

Politicians, military leaders and celebrities from across the country came to bid farewell Saturday to former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, whose death at age 46 opened yet another chapter of grief for his father, Vice President Joe Biden.

Calling himself part of the Biden clan, President Barack Obama remembered Beau Biden as a selfless son and consummate public servant in a eulogy delivered at Biden’s funeral.

“He did in 46 years what most of us couldn’t do in 146,” Obama said. “He left nothing in the tank.”

Addressing the vice president and his wife, Jill, Obama reflected on their friendship: “Michelle and I thank God you are in our lives. Taking this ride with you is one of the great pleasures of our lives. Joe, you are my brother.”

Beau Biden, the vice president’s oldest son, died May 30 after a two-year battle with brain cancer that played out mostly in private, in contrast to the intensely public life that the Bidens have lived for decades. An overflow crowd of more than 1,000 packed St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington to pay their respects. Residents sat among political luminaries such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

For Joe Biden, the death marked yet another untimely personal loss. More than four decades ago, a car crash killed Biden’s wife and baby daughter and injured his two sons just weeks after he was elected to the Senate. Biden was sworn in at the hospital where 3-year-old Beau and his younger brother, Hunter, were being treated.

The vice president, who did not speak at the funeral, embraced Obama after crossing himself solemnly as he entered the church to the strains of “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables.”