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 The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...

. She died in a car crash in 1972 with her one-year-old daughter, Naomi. Her two sons, Beau and

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, were both critically injured, but survived the wreck.

Early life and career

Neilia Hunter was born on July 28, 1942, in

Skaneateles, New York Skaneateles ( , ) is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,112 at the 2020 census. The name is from the Iroquois term for the adjacent ''Skaneateles'' Lake, which means "long lake." The town is on the western ...

, to Louise (née Basel; 1915–1993) and Robert Hunter (1914–1991) who were Presbyterians. She attended Penn Hall, a

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

boarding school in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

. She was active in the school's French club,

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

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 Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city's ...

. She was related to former Auburn city councilman Robert Hunter.

Marriage and family life

Neilia Hunter met Joe Biden in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, while they were both on spring break. Shortly after, Biden moved to Syracuse and attended

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. The couple married on August 27, 1966. After Biden graduated from law school, the Bidens moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, 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.

Death

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 Hockessin () is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 13,527 at the 2010 census. History Hockessin came into existence as a little village in 1688 when several families settled in the ...

. At the intersection with

Delaware Route 7 Delaware Route 7 (DE 7) is a north–south highway in New Castle County, Delaware that connects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) and DE 72 in Wrangle Hill north to the Pennsylvania border near Hockessin, where the road con ...

(Limestone Road), she pulled out in front of a

tractor-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

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 ChristianaCare is a network of private, non-profit hospitals providing health care services to all of the U.S. state of Delaware and portions of seven counties bordering the state in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The system includes two h ...

, 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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

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 Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census ...

Legacy

In a commencement speech at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

in 2015, Joe Biden, then serving as

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

in the administration led by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, spoke of his wife, saying, "The incredible bond I have with my children is the gift I'm not sure I would have had, had I not been through what I went through fter the fatal crash But by focusing on my sons, I found my redemption." A park in a suburban area of unincorporated

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

, outside the city of Wilmington, Neilia Hunter Biden Park, is dedicated in her memory. Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, where Neilia's father ran the food service operation for many years, annually confers the Neilia Hunter Biden Award on two graduates, one for

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

and one for

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines ...

. Among the early winners was William "Bill" Fulton, who later served as mayor of Ventura, California. A memorial plaque was erected at Bellevue Elementary School in Syracuse in Neilia's memory.

References

External links

Neilia Hunter Biden
at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biden, Neilia Hunter 1942 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American educators Neilia Educators from Delaware Schoolteachers from New York (state) 20th-century American women educators People from Skaneateles, New York People from Wilmington, Delaware Road incident deaths in Delaware Spouses of Delaware politicians Syracuse City School District Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Burials in New Castle County, Delaware