Neilia Hunter Biden

Neilia Hunter Biden (July 28, 1942 – December 18, 1972) was an American teacher and the first wife of Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States. She died in a car crash in 1972 with their one-year-old daughter, Naomi. Their two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured but survived the incident. Her death occurred 6 weeks after her husband’s election to the U.S. Senate and nearly 48 years before he was elected President of the United States in November 2020.On December 18, 1972, shortly after Joe became U.S. senator-elect, Neilia was driving with her three children west along rural Valley Road in Hockessin, Delaware. At the intersection with Delaware Route 7 (Limestone Road), she pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer truck traveling north along Route 7. Police determined that Neilia drove into the path of the tractor-trailer, possibly due to visibility issues.Born: 28 July 1942, Skaneateles, New York, United StatesDied: 18 December 1972, Wilmington, Delaware, United StatesGrandchildren: Naomi Biden, Finnegan Biden, Maisy Biden, Natalie Biden, Robert Biden II, moreChildren: Naomi Biden, Beau Biden, Hunter BidenSpouse: Joe Biden (m. 1966–1972)Place of burial: St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery, Greenville, Delaware, United StatesParents: Robert Neil Hunter, Louise Basl HunterSunday marks the 50th anniversary of the death of President Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden.Mr Biden met her while on spring break from the University of Delaware. He sneaked in to an exclusive beach club in the Bahamas, where he saw her by the swimming pool.“When she turned towards me, I could see she had a beautiful smile and gorgeous green eyes,” he wrote in his memoir Promises to Keep. “She was lit by the unforgiving journey of a full afternoon sun, and I couldn’t see a single flaw.”Despite their different upbringings ― hers more on the posh side and him being, “just a kid from Scranton, Pennsylvania” — along with opposing political leanings, the two were married in August 1966 with their first son Beau arriving in 1969, followed by son Hunter, and a year later daughter Naomi.This week marks the 50th anniversary of the death of President Joe Biden’s first wife and baby daughter, a tragedy that has defined the Delawarean’s personal and political life. On the afternoon of Dec. 18, 1972, Neilia Biden, 30, pulled her Chevrolet station wagon to the then-stop sign at Valley and Limestone roads in Hockessin. She and her three young children had just gone shopping for a Christmas tree. A tractor-trailer carrying corn cobs then plowed into the Biden family’s station wagon. The car went spinning, crashing into a row of evergreen trees. The windshield was shattered. The left rear door was smashed into the car. Biden campaign literature was scattered in the street. Just six weeks earlier, Biden, then 29, won a stunning victory over Republican Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, a popular two-term incumbent.Neilia, seen by many as the brains behind her husband’s earliest political victories, and Naomi, known as Amy, were dead on arrival at the hospital. Naomi was just 13 months old. Sons Beau and Hunter, then 4 and 3 years old, were seriously injured. Biden was in Washington at the time. He was interviewing prospective staff.Two weeks after the accident, Biden was sworn into office. He stood in the chapel of Wilmington Hospital, with news cameras flashing around him. Sons Beau and Hunter watched just feet away from their hospital beds.Biden met Neilia, who grew up in New York’s Finger Lakes region, in 1964 on a beach while Biden was on a spring break trip in the Bahamas.Neilia studied English at Syracuse University. She had been a homecoming queen and a dean’s list student. Biden was a junior at the University of Delaware, where he played football.In his 2007 memoir, “Promises to Keep,” Biden wrote he quit football so he could spend weekends visiting Neilia. He also planned to go to law school at Syracuse for the same reason.She earned a master’s degree in education from Syracuse and taught English and worked with children with cognitive disabilities.”I guess the only time I got in trouble with my parents was when I wanted to marry Joe,” Neilia told The News Journal in an interview. “He was Irish Catholic and we were Scotch Presbyterian, but they liked him too much to say no.”Grief and tragedy have come to define Biden as a politician and now as president. For the past 40 years, he has privately comforted grieving people in Delaware. He has been known to attend funerals, once for a woman who donated $18 to every one of his campaigns.Neilia and Naomi Biden were buried in All Saints Cemetery off Kirkwood Highway, but the graves were later moved to the cemetery at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine in Greenville, the Catholic church where the Biden family now worships. The Biden family plot there also includes the graves of Biden’s father, Joseph Sr.; his mother, Jean; and his elder son, Beau.Neilia Hunter was born on July 28, 1942, in Skaneateles, New York, to Louise (née Basel; 1915–1993) and Robert Hunter (1914–1991) who were Presbyterians. She attended Penn Hall, a secondary boarding school in Pennsylvania. She was active in the school’s French club, hockey, swimming and student council. After secondary school, she attended Syracuse University and was a school teacher in the Syracuse City School District. She was an English teacher at the Bellevue Academy in Syracuse, New York. She was related to former Auburn city councilman Robert Hunter.Neilia Hunter met Joe Biden in Nassau, Bahamas, while they were both on spring break. Shortly after, Biden moved to Syracuse and attended law school. The couple married on August 27, 1966. After Biden graduated from law school, the Bidens moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden was on the New Castle County Council. The couple had three children: Joseph Robinette “Beau”, Robert Hunter and Naomi Christina “Amy”. While Biden campaigned to unseat U.S. Senator from Delaware J. Caleb Boggs, Neilia was described by The News Journal as the “brains” of his campaign.On December 18, 1972, shortly after Joe became U.S. senator-elect, Neilia was driving with her three children west along rural Valley Road in Hockessin, Delaware. At the intersection with Delaware Route 7 (Limestone Road), she pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer truck traveling north along Route 7. Police determined that Neilia drove into the path of the tractor-trailer, possibly due to visibility issues. The truck driver, identified as Curtis C. Dunn, 33, of Avondale, Pa., escaped without any major injury. All four occupants were taken to Wilmington General Hospital, where Neilia and Naomi were pronounced dead on arrival, but Beau and Hunter both survived with multiple serious injuries. Two weeks after the crash, Joe was sworn into the Senate at the hospital, where Beau and Hunter were being treated. Neilia and Naomi were buried in St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery in Greenville, Delaware.