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Joe Biden's Mother Dies At 92
Vice President Joe Biden’s mother, Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Finnegan Biden, died Friday in Wilmington, Del., days after becoming seriously ill, the White House announced.
"At 92, she was the center of our family and taught all of her children that family is to be treasured, loyalty is paramount and faith will guide you through the tough times. She believed in us, and because of that, we believed in ourselves," Biden said in a statement. "Together with my father, her husband of 61 years who passed away in 2002, we learned the dignity of hard work and that you are defined by your sense of honor. Her strength, which was immeasurable, will live on in all of us".
In March, she suffered a broken hip and had been in hospice care since then. Her family was had gathered by her bedside over the last few days, with Biden cancelling several meetings to be with his mother.
The Vice President often talked about his mother as the center of his family.
While she was recovering from hip surgery, she teased him for not wearing green and as he greeted Irish American guests at the White House for St. Patrick’s Day, Biden pointed to his green necktie and said “Mom, I got my green on tonight."
On the campaign trail she was a familiar fixture, once interrupting one of her son’s stump speeches to ask if he was eating enough.
And during his address at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008, Biden told a story about being bullied as a child and how his mother offered tough-love advice.
“And when I got knocked down by guys bigger than me — and this is the God’s truth — she sent me back out and said, ‘Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day.’ And that’s what I did,” he said.
Details about services will be released over the next few days, the White House said.
The White House release is below:
Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Finnegan Biden was born on July 17, 1917, the daughter of the late Ambrose J. Finnegan and the former Geraldine C. Blewitt of Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1941, she married Joseph Robinette Biden. They were married for 61 years before Mr. Biden passed away in 2002.
Mrs. Biden is survived by her eldest son, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., his wife Jill Jacobs Biden and their three children, Joseph R. Biden, III, of Wilmington, Delaware, his wife Hallie Olivere Biden and their children, Natalie Paige Biden and Robert Hunter Biden, II; R. Hunter Biden of Washington, D.C., his wife Kathleen Buhle Biden and their children, Naomi King Biden, Finnegan James Biden and Roberta Mabel Biden; and Ashley Blazer Biden of Wilmington, Delaware; and by her daughter, Valerie Biden Owens of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, her husband John T. Owens and their children Valerie James Owens, Cuffe Biden Owens and Catherine Eugenia Owens; and by her two younger sons, James Brian Biden of Merion Station, Pennsylvania, his wife Sara Jones Biden and their children, James Brian Biden, Jr., Caroline Nicole Biden and Nicholas Coleman Biden; and Francis W. Biden of Florida and his daughter, Alana Jaquet Biden.
Details on services for Mrs. Biden, 92, will be available in the coming days. On behalf of the Biden family, Valerie Biden Owens has requested that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a contribution in memory of Mrs. Biden do so to a hospice, the Ministry of Caring in Wilmington, Delaware, or the Naomi Christina Biden Minority Scholarship Fund at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware.
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Sources: AP, Whitehouse.gov, Politico, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps
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