Roberto Clemente Drive Officially Renamed To Also Honor Vera Clemente
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Since his death in 1972, there have been numerous tributes around the city for Pirates legend Roberto Clemente.
On Thursday, the city of Pittsburgh honored a special person in his life who carried on his legacy.
In Oakland, Roberto Clemente Drive has officially been renamed Roberto & Vera Clemente Drive.
Roberto Clemente, who died in a plane crash in December 1972 on a trip to deliver relief aid, had the street named in his honor four years after his death.
And for decades after his passing, Vera, his wife, continued his legacy of philanthropy and played a significant role in the Roberto Clemente Foundation. The foundation continues relief efforts for areas hit by natural disasters.
Vera died in 2019, and city leaders said honoring her was an important gesture.
"It is clear that everything he did, he did with her by his side, with her as a partner in every meaning of life," Mayor Bill Peduto's Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said.
Members of the Clemente family expressed that naming the road after both of them is a reminder of their epic love story.
"She was someone who truly loved dad," said Luis Clemente, Roberto and Vera's son. "I always say that is the truest love story I know. She brought us the way dad would have wanted. She made sure to know his projects, his dreams. That is how she taught us to continue the legacy."
Mayor Peduto could not be there for the ceremony, but the family did bring a plaque thanking him for his dedication to honoring the Clemente legacy.