On Saturday, June 6, 2015, former Delaware attorney general and Iraq war veteran Beau Biden, 46, was laid to rest. Biden passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2015 after a battle with brain cancer.
His funeral was held at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware at 10.30 a.m. Vice President Joe Biden chose President Barack Obama to deliver his oldest son’s eulogy because he is likely the only one who could accurately articulate his family’s grief as he’s witnessed it over the last few years.
The funeral attracted dozens of lawmakers past and present, including former President Bill Clinton, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Chris Martin, whose band Coldplay was a favorite of Beau Biden’s, performed an organ-and-guitar version of his ballad “Til Kingdom Come” as mourners wept; he volunteered to perform.
Here are seven of the most profound statements President Obama made during the tribute to the dearly departed “consummate public servant” and “a man of character.”
- “Beau Biden was an original.”
- “The cruelty he’d endured in his life didn’t make him hard, it made him compassionate, empathetic.”
- “Here was a soldier who dodged glory, and exuded true humility. … collected more fans than foes.
- “Beau did not have a mean bone in his body.”
- “The cruelty he’d endured in his life didn’t make him hard, it made him compassionate, empathetic. But it did make him abhor bullies.”
- “Beau didn’t trade on his name.”
- “Beau didn’t cut corners.”
Read the eulogy in its entirety.
