When Roberto Clemente Jr.’s dad — the legendary Pirates player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente — died in a plane crash on his way to delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on New Year’s Eve 1972, he was told to be strong.

So Clemente’s eldest son didn’t really cry over his father’s death for decades, until the mid-2000s.

Instead of dealing with his emotions, he found himself managing the grief of nearly everyone around him.

“People still come up to me crying about my dad,” he said.

So, the 60-year-old has a lot of catching up to do.

“I’m still that 7-year-old grieving kid,” he said.

For his sake — and to the benefit of children and families dealing with loss — Clemente has chosen the supportive confines of The Highmark Caring Place as a place to grieve his father. And he

See Full Page