Roberto Clemente's Widow Vera Passes Away at Age 81
By Sean Facey
The baseball world lost one of its greatest souls on Saturday.
Vera Clemente, the widow of Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Pirates player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, has passed away. The 81-year-old had previously been hospitalized on at the beginning of November, and she was reportedly in "delicate health."
According to reports out of Puerto Rico, Vera Clemente, Roberto's widow, has passed away. On Nov. 1 the Pirates announced she had been hospitalized and was in "delicate health."
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) November 16, 2019
She had served as the chairwoman of the Roberto Clemente Foundation and as an MLB Goodwill Ambassador. During her tenure in those roles, she carried on her late husband's tradition of raising money and providing aid to areas in need.
The two now leave behind a legacy of love and compassion the likes of which every athlete and family should strive to achieve. The work they did for under-served and disaster-stricken areas around the world was unparalleled.
RIP Vera Clemente, widow of HoFer Roberto Clemente?? , who spent his entire career w the #Pirates, has died at the age of 81. Here's the @sabr bio of her husband, the Great One https://t.co/YxOkqSdJo6 pic.twitter.com/Tzl36DLz7u
— SABR BioProject (@SABRbioproject) November 17, 2019
Roberto died in 1972 in a plane crash while attempting to deliver disaster relief supplies to Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake.
His and Vera's children, Roberto Clemente Jr., Luis Clemente and Roberto Enrique Clemente are now left to mourn their mother's passing and hopefully keep the flame of their family's generosity burning as bright as ever in the years to come.
It's not often that a person of her or her husband's level of true, historic kindness and generosity comes around, and their presence in the baseball landscape will be sorely missed by all.