Delawareans gathered Thursday to say goodbye to a man many had hoped would be their next governor, at Beau Biden's memorial service in the state capital.
Biden died last weekend of brain cancer at age 46. His family and procession set out for Dover from Wilmington Thursday morning, as outside Legislative Hall, hundreds waited in line to pay their respects.
Omenta McDaniel of Dover was one of them. She says Biden's work as the First State's Attorney General helped her keep her house during the foreclosure crisis.
"He saved it, and so I'm still in my house," she said. "I have a lot of respect for him and his family. I know what they're going through, 'cause I lost a son two years ago."
Her friend Elaine Martin, also of Dover, said she wanted to pay tribute to Beau's father, Vice President Joe Biden.
"He's one of those down to earth persons. He'll talk to anybody, he's just a sweet person," she said. "And I was hoping to vote for Beau again, but God knows best. With his illness, he's in a better place."
Many mourners said they'd come out to show respect for the Vice President as well as his late son. Frank Shelton was one who drove from out of state to attend the service. Shelton lives outside Washington, D.C., and says he worked in Congress when Joe Biden was a senator.
"He has experienced great loss today, but as a parent, as a father, as a husband, that man is a winner," Shelton said. "You can just see the way he raised his son -- a lot of people think [Beau] certainly would have been governor, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
Also in line was Melody Davis from Pennsylvania. She says she once met the Vice President at the train station in Wilmington, and wanted to show her support after his son's death.
"They seem like they were such a humble family in this community," she said. "Everywhere I've been today, everyone's a little sad, but [Beau]'s resting now and he's not in any pain."
As she spoke, dozens from the state Volunteer Firefighters Association were arriving via shuttle bus in their dress blues. They came from Kent, Sussex and New Castle counties to see Beau Biden lying in repose inside the capital.
Anthony Guzzo is the association's president. He says other tragedies that rocked the Bidens -- including the car crash that killed Beau's mother and sister -- have given the family a history with first responders.
"This is kind of a personal thing for most of these firefighters, because they've been so connected with Joe and Beau," Guzzo said.
Ralph Edward Godwin says he's known the Bidens since he worked on the Vice President's first Senate campaign, on the eve of that same crash.
"His son was an upcoming rising star in Delaware, very popular, and everyone thought that he was gonna go very far in Delaware politics," Godwin said. "It's a great loss to us. It's like a knife in the heart."
Thousands will have paid respects to Beau Biden by the end of this weekend's memorial services. There are two viewings tomorrow at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington. A funeral mass will be held there Saturday morning at 10:30 -- with President Obama delivering a eulogy.
