Vera Clemente
1941-2019
If the Pittsburgh Pirates had a "First Lady", it would had to have been Vera Clemente, the widow of Pirates Hall of Famer, Roberto Clemente. Mrs. Clemente died this past Saturday, not long after her family announced that she was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness. As Post-Gazette reporter Jason Mackey put it, Vera, a widow for almost forty-seven years, is now no doubt enjoying a long awaited reunion with her husband.
Vera Clemente never remarried, instead continuing the philanthropic and humanitarian work begun by her husband. She was a frequent visitor to Pittsburgh, and it was not unusual to see her at Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park attending Pirates games over the years.
I remember some years back, probably in the early 1980's, a caller to Myron Cope's radio show recounted how when he, the caller, was in Puerto Rico on vacation, he looked up Mrs. Clemente and paid a visit to her home to pay his respects to her and the memory of Roberto Clemente. Kind of a creepy story on one level, but he recounted how gracious and charming Vera was to he and his family when they called upon her.
RIP Vera Clemente.
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