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Public Viewings as Delaware Says Goodbye to Beau Biden

Former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden's funeral will take place Saturday in his hometown of Wilmington. President Barack Obama is planning to deliver a eulogy.

The funeral mass for Vice President Joe Biden's eldest son will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington and will feature words by the president, announced the Vice President's Office Tuesday.

A public viewing will be held at the church from 1 to 4 p.m. ET then from 6 to 9 p.m. ET at the church on Friday.

Prior to the viewing, Biden's casket will lie in honor inside Legislative Hall in Dover from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, said the White House.

"The Legislative Hall ceremony will allow the General Assembly, other government officials, and the Biden family’s many friends the opportunity to pay their respects,” said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

The funeral will be followed by burial at St. Joseph on the Brandywine cemetery -- the same place where Biden's mother is buried, according to the Wilmington Diocese's newspaper The Dialog.

The funeral follows a private mass for the Biden Family Thursday at Biden's home parish -- St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville, according to the diocese. The details of the private events weren't revealed by the White House.

Joseph "Beau" Biden III, who followed his father into politics and was twice elected attorney general of Delaware, died Saturday of brain cancer nearly two years after he was first diagnosed. Biden was 46.

Biden, who suffered from various health problems in recent years, was hospitalized this month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for then-undisclosed reasons. He suffered a mild stroke in 2010 and three years later underwent surgery at a Texas cancer center to remove what was described as a small lesion.

He announced last year that he would not seek a third term as attorney general and instead planned to run for governor in 2016.

"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, announcing the death of the oldest of his three children.

"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words," he said.

President 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.

Further details for Biden's funeral weren't revealed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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