Vice President Biden personally greets thousands of mourners as they say goodbye to his son Beau

theGrio REPORT - On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden stood in front of the casket of his recently departed son and spent six hours personally greeting every mourner that came by to pay their respects.

On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden stood in front of the casket of his recently departed son and spent six hours personally greeting every mourner that came by to pay their respects.

When asked how he could remain so strong, he said, “We have an expression in our family: What would Beau do?”

Beau Biden recently lost his battle with cancer that began in 2013 when doctors discovered lesions. Although he was given a clean bill of health after many treatments and radiation, the cancer returned in 2015 and eventually claimed his life.

During the services, many remembered him as a kind-hearted man of service whose life was framed by “bookends of tragedy.” He began his life with tragedy when he was in a crash as a toddler, along with his brother, that killed his mother and baby sister. And his life ended tragically with this recent bout with cancer.

As thousands lined up to say goodbye and to pay their respects to Beau, and by two hours in, the line stretched over two blocks.

“You name it, everybody’s here paying their respects because the Bidens ARE Delaware,” said Samantha Lukoff, a former prosecutor who worked under Beau.

“In my eyes, he proved to be a public servant, not a politician,” said former Delaware Chief Justice Myron Steele, who twice gave Biden the oath of office for attorney general.

In that spirit of service, the vice president’s family released the following statement: ‘On behalf of the Biden family, Hallie Biden has requested that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a contribution in memory of Beau Biden do so to the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children.”

Watch local coverage of the service below.

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