--- title: Vice President Joe Biden’s Bond With Late Son Beau Was Forged by Tragedy description: Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden who died Saturday at the age of 46, was recently described by the vice president as... canonical: https://time.com/3902786/beau-biden-tragedy/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-31T23:52:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:08:13.204Z article:section: Politics og:title: Vice President Joe Biden’s Bond With Late Son Beau Was Forged by Tragedy og:description: Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden who died Saturday at the age of 46, was recently described by the vice president as... og:url: https://time.com/3902786/beau-biden-tragedy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte86a6a57d0a92b32/69885257f887dcd274e90b33/rtr21rh5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: Attorney General Beau and Vice Presidential candidate Senator Biden gesture on stage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Vice President Joe Biden’s Bond With Late Son Beau Was Forged by Tragedy twitter:description: Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden who died Saturday at the age of 46, was recently described by the vice president as... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte86a6a57d0a92b32/69885257f887dcd274e90b33/rtr21rh5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vice President Joe Biden's Bond With Late Son Beau Was Forged by Tragedy > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d9368ffe-f5b5-4c2a-a453-de149ac1ad42&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Beau Biden's 'Mighty Heart' Remembered At Funeral [Watch (HLS stream): Beau Biden's 'Mighty Heart' Remembered At Funeral](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kzVcg0hg.m3u8) (1:40)  _Published 2015-06-06. Mourners bid Beau Biden a final farewell at a funeral mass held in Wilmington, Delaware. The vice president’s son died of brain cancer at age 46._ by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News May 31, 2015 11:52 PM UTC by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News May 31, 2015 11:52 PM UTC Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden who died Saturday at the age of 46, was recently described by the vice president as his “redemption.” Along with his brother, Beau was the light in the terrible darkness that seemed inescapable in the face of Biden family tragedy more than 40 years ago. Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a Christmas time car accident in 1972, just weeks after Biden became the second youngest man elected to the Senate, according to [The Associated Press](https://web.archive.org/web/20080925021142/http:/www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/22/politics/p222636D16.DTL). Biden’s two sons, Beau, who was 3 years old at the time… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vice-president-joe-bidens-bond-late-son-beau-was-forged-n367296?cid=par-time-article%5F20150531) ## Transcript Beau Biden brought to his work a mighty heart. He brought to his family a mighty heart. [ MUSIC ] Mourners filled the aisles as President Obama paid tribute to Beau Biden. Eldest son of Vice President, Joe Biden who died at 46 of brain cancer. He was not above dancing in nothing but a Sombrero and shorts at Thanksgiving and would shake loose a laugh from the people he loved. And through it all, he was the consummate public servant, a notebook in his back pocket at all times so he could write down the problems of everyone he met. And go back to the office to get him fixed. He never judged. He just listened, and offered his hand, his shoulder, his wise advice, and his love. Ashley and Hunter Biden also spoke at their brother's funeral mass. As did General Ray [ UNKNOWN ], a former U. S. commander in Iraq. I was able to witness firsthand, Beau was an incredible character. He presented Biden with the Legion of Merit for his military service. Saturday's funeral mass concludes three days of public mourning for the former Delaware attorney general and over Thursday, hundreds gathered to pay their respects as Biden's flag draped casket lay in the state capital. A separate public viewing was held Friday, in Wilmington. This fearlessly patriotic public servant, gone. Gone. 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