--- title: Joe Biden Thanks Public for 'Compassion' After Son Beau's Death description: "Your love & admiration for Beau has touched us beyond measure" canonical: https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-08T17:51:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:09.507Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Thanks Well-Wishers for 'Compassion' After Son's Death og:description: "Your love & admiration for Beau has touched us beyond measure" og:url: https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d807f75ebc6c4e1/698853823c1639679045841b/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vice President Joe Biden funeral og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Thanks Well-Wishers for 'Compassion' After Son's Death twitter:description: "Your love & admiration for Beau has touched us beyond measure" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d807f75ebc6c4e1/698853823c1639679045841b/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vice President Joe Biden Thanks Public for 'Compassion' After Son's Death by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 8, 2015 5:51 PM UTC  Vice President Joe Biden, right, puts his hand on his heart as he and granddaughter Natalie and stepmother Jill Biden look on before a funeral mass for former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Biden, at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware June 6, 2015. Vice President Joe Biden, right, puts his hand on his heart as he and granddaughter Natalie and stepmother Jill Biden look on before a funeral mass for former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Biden, at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware June 6, 2015.Bryan Woolstoon — Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 8, 2015 5:51 PM UTC Vice President Joe Biden tweeted his and his family’s gratitude for the outpouring of “kindness and compassion” they’ve received in the wake of his son Beau’s death. > [](https://twitter.com/VP/status/607949804006699008) Beau Biden was laid to rest this Saturday following three days of public events, at which thousands joined the Biden family in mourning his death. The vice president’s eldest son was 46 years old when he died in late May of brain cancer. At his funeral mass on Saturday, President Obama said Beau, “did in 46 years what most of us couldn’t do in 146\. He left nothing in the tank.” Read more:[ Read the full text of President Obama’s heartfelt eulogy](http://time.com/3911699/beau-biden-funeral-barack-obama-eulogy-full-text/) ### See the Life of Beau Biden  Joe Biden takes a mock oath of office from George H. W. Bush, accompanied by his family in Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 3, 1985. Lana Harris—AP  Senator Joseph Biden, (D-Del.), center, waves to a crowd as his train leaves, after he announced his candidacy for President in Wilmington, Del., June 9, 1987\. At right, Biden's son, Beau, carries Biden's daughter Ashley. Next to Biden is his wife, Jill, and son Hunter. George Widman—AP  Vice President Joe Biden walks with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, second left, and his son, Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General, during a visit to Scranton, Pa., on July 3, 2012. Butch Comegys—AP  President Barack Obama shakes hands with Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, left, next to Biden's wife, Hallie Biden, far left, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell as he arrives at New Castle Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., on July 17, 2014. Jacquelyn Martin—AP  Beau Biden with then Vice Presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden on stage at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo. August 27, 2008. Chris Wattie—Reuters  Then Senator Joe Biden embraces his son after his son introduced him at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 27, 2008. Larry Downing—Reuters  In this Sept. 30, 2009 file photo, Capt. Beau Biden carries his son Hunter, 3, on his shoulders after an official welcome home ceremony for members of the Delaware Army National Guard 261st Signal Brigade in Dover, Del. Rob Carr—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/"},"headline":"Vice President Joe Biden Thanks Public for 'Compassion' After Son's Death","datePublished":"2015-06-08T17:51:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:09.507Z","description":"\"Your love & admiration for Beau has touched us beyond measure\"","url":"https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/","keywords":["vice president","Barack Obama","Joe Biden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d807f75ebc6c4e1/698853823c1639679045841b/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d807f75ebc6c4e1/698853823c1639679045841b/biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vice President Joe Biden funeral","caption":"Vice President Joe Biden funeral","creditText":"Bryan Woolstoon — Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/vice-president/","name":"vice president"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3912949/vice-president-joe-biden-thanks-compassion-kindness/","name":"Vice President Joe Biden Thanks Public for 'Compassion' After Son's Death"}}]}] ```