Vera Zabala
{{Short description|Puerto Rican philanthropist (1941–2019)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vera Zabala
| image = Vera Clemente receiving medal (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Vera Cristina Zabala Vivada
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1941|3|6}}
| birth_place = Carolina, Puerto Rico
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2019|11|16|1941|3|7}}
| death_place = San Juan, Puerto Rico
| nationality =
| other_names = Vera Clemente
| occupation = philanthropist
| years_active = 1964-2019
| known_for = chair of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, founder of the Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente
| notable_works =
| spouse = Roberto Clemente
| children = 3; Including Roberto Jr.
}}
Vera Zabala Clemente (March 6, 1941 – November 16, 2019) was a Puerto Rican philanthropist who was the head of the Roberto Clemente Foundation. She founded a sports education facility in Puerto Rico and was a Goodwill Ambassador for Major League Baseball. She was the wife of baseball player Roberto Clemente, who died in 1972, and the mother of sportscaster Roberto Clemente Jr. She went to the White House in 2003 to receive her husband's posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Early life
Vera Cristina Zabala was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 1941. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, and worked as a bank teller as a young woman.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/sports/baseball/vera-clemente-dead.html|title=Vera Clemente, Flame-Keeping Widow of Baseball’s Roberto, Dies at 78|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=2019-11-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
Career
Zabala was chair of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, and a Goodwill Ambassador for Major League Baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://robertoclementefoundation.com/about-us/vera-clemente-2/|title=Vera Clemente|website=Roberto Clemente Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lavidabaseball.com/we-mourn-our-baseball-queen-our-matriarch-vera-clemente/|title=We Mourn our Baseball Queen, our Matriarch, Vera Clemente|last=de Jesus Ortiz|first=Jose|date=2019-11-18|website=La Vida Baseball|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-01}} She and her three young sons{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39900663/vera_clemente_1973/|title='Hadn't Lived His Life', Laments Vera Clemente|last=Richman|first=Milton|date=February 2, 1973|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=30|via=Newspapers.com}} attended Roberto Clemente's posthumous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39900350/vera_clemente_1973/|title=Shock and Pain Gone for Vera Clemente|date=August 7, 1973|work=The Call-Leader|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=6|via=Newspapers.com}} In his memory, she established the Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39899465/vera_clemente_1976/|title=The Widow on Clemente Street|last=Cushman|first=Tom|date=February 24, 1976|work=Philadelphia Daily News|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=51|via=Newspapers.com}} a sports education facility in Carolina, Puerto Rico, supported by grants, loans, and an annual telethon that she hosted.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39900880/vera_clemente_2003/|title=Clemente's Dream Needs Fulfillment|last=Newhan|first=Ross|date=June 8, 2003|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=December 1, 2019|pages=3–16|via=Newspapers.com}} "My main purpose was to do what he was planning to do," she said in a 1994 interview.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39900074/vera_clemente_1994/|title=Clemente's Widow Trying to Fulfill His Vision, and Hers|date=December 4, 1994|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=29|via=Newspapers.com}} She also established a pediatric clinic in Nicaragua in his memory.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39901271/vera_clemente_1989/|title=Clemente's Emotional Journey|last=Ruck|first=Rob|date=May 4, 1989|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=18|via=Newspapers.com}}
She was active in choosing the recipients of the annual Roberto Clemente Award. She was a familiar figure at charity events in Puerto Rico and in Pittsburgh, where her husband played baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/vera-clemente-passes-away|title=Vera Clemente, widow of Roberto, passes away|last=Berry|first=Adam|last2=Sanchez|first2=Jesse|date=November 18, 2019|website=MLB.com|language=en|access-date=2019-12-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/steve-blass-remembers-vera-clemente-for-her-charity-work-continued-love-for-pittsburgh/|title=Steve Blass remembers Vera Clemente for her charity work, continued love for Pittsburgh|last=Perrotto|first=John|date=November 17, 2019|website=TRIBLive|access-date=2019-12-01}} In 1982, she was the first woman to be named captain of a major league All-Star team, when she was captain of the National League team that year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39899812/vera_clemente_1982/|title=Vera Clemente Breaks New Ground|last=Smith|first=Claire|date=February 9, 1982|work=Indiana Gazette|access-date=December 1, 2019|page=17|via=Newspapers.com}}
On July 23, 2003, she went to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of her husband. The award was made by George W. Bush for her husband's charitable works.{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/07/images/20030723-9_d072304-515h.html|title=President Honors 2003 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov|access-date=2019-12-01}}
Personal life
Vera Zabala married Roberto Clemente in 1964. They had three sons, Roberto Jr., Luis, and Enrique, a few years before Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash in 1972. She died in 2019, aged 78 years, after a brief hospitalization in San Juan, Puerto Rico.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2019-11-19/vera-clemente-humanitarian-roberto-clemente-dead|title=Vera Clemente, humanitarian and widow of Pirates legend Roberto Clemente, dies|date=2019-11-19|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/vera-clemente-widow-of-hall-of-famer-roberto-clemente-in-delicate-health-/1004338689|title=Vera Clemente, widow of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente in 'delicate health'|last=EndPlay|date=2019-11-02|website=WSBTV|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-01}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1692781}}
{{Roberto Clemente}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Baseball|Puerto Rico}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabala, Vera}}
Category:People from Carolina, Puerto Rico