Beau Biden, son of U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, dies of cancer

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

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 suffered a mild stroke in 2010 and three years later underwent surgery at a Texas cancer centreto remove what was described 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.

'Saddened beyond words'

"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.

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

"Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth," Obama said in a separate statement. The Obamas visited the vice president and his family at their official residence, the Naval Observatory, on Sunday afternoon.

The vice president said his son had dedicated his life to serving others during stints as a lawyer, a major in the Delaware National Guard and as state attorney general. Beau Biden served a yearlong deployment in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star.

He most recently was with the Wilmington, Del., law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, where he focused on securities litigation and whistleblower cases.

"More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother," said Joe Biden, who was at his son's side at the time of his death, along with the rest of the Biden family. "His absolute honour 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."

"In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known," the vice president added.

Diagnosed in 2013

Beau Biden was first diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013. He underwent surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to remove a lesion and was treated with radiation and chemotherapy before doctors gave him a clean bill of health three months later.

He suffered a recurrence of cancer this spring and was admitted to Walter Reed in May, officials said.

Beau Biden gained national prominence after he introduced his father at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on the night in 2008 when Joe Biden accepted the vice presidential nomination. Months later, he returned home from Iraq to see his father sworn into office.

A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Biden earned a law degree from Syracuse University. He was a law clerk for a federal judge in New Hampshire before joining the U.S. Justice Department from 1995 until 2002, including five years as a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia.

In 2001, he volunteered for an interim assignment training judges and prosecutors in postwar Kosovo.

With his father, then Delaware's senior U.S. senator, at his side in 2006, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III launched his campaign for attorney general. He promised to reorganize the state Department of Justice to better combat identity theft, internet stalking by pedophiles, street crime and abuse of the elderly.

During the campaign, Biden sidestepped questions about his ultimate political ambitions.

"Sometimes, it's not good to look too far down the road," said Biden, who was critically injured along with his brother in a 1972 car crash that killed their mother and infant sister. The accident happened just weeks after his father was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Beau Biden remained cautious about discussing his long-range plans after suffering the stroke in 2010.

"Having long-term dreams is a good thing ... but having a plan has never worked for me, because life always intervenes," he told The Associated Press. For Biden, that initial health scare was a reminder to balance his job with family time advice he encouraged others to follow.