US Vice President Joe Biden’s Son Beau Dies of Brain Cancer

Beau Biden, who followed his father, Vice President Joe Biden, into politics and was twice elected attorney general of Delaware, died on Saturday of brain cancer less than two years after he was diagnosed. Beau Biden was 46.

"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 vice president said late Saturday in announcing the death of his second child. An infant daughter was killed in a car accident more than four decades ago.

"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," he said.

The younger Biden, who suffered a series of health problems in recent years, was hospitalized this month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington for then-undisclosed reasons. He had suffered a mild stroke in 2010 and three years later underwent surgery at a Texas cancer center to remove what was describe as a small lesion.

He announced last year that he would not seek a third term as attorney general and planned to run for governor in 2016.

Beau Biden is survived by his wife, Hallie, and children Natalie, 11, and Hunter, 9, along with his parents, a brother and sister, a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and three nieces. Funeral arrangements were not announced. Beau Biden is entitled to military funeral honors.

President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, were grieving alongside the Biden family.