Virginia Moore, Gov. Andy Beshear’s sign language interpreter, died Saturday.
Beshear announced her death via Twitter Sunday afternoon, calling it heartbreaking and Moore a “rock of stability and grace during the pandemic.” Moore was an integral part of keeping around 700,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing Kentuckians abreast of important updates from Team Kentucky.
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Moore was the executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, where she had worked since 1995 and was appointed as the executive director in 2009. She held several degrees and certifications as an interpreter.
“She helped bring us all together in our most challenging times, so I hope you’ll join Britainy and me today in praying for all who loved her,” Beshear said.
As Moore would remind Kentuckians, Beshear said, “We will get through this; we will get through this together.”
“I will miss her greatly,” the governor tweeted.
Moore became well known while appearing with Beshear, giving Kentucky updates during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she also remained collected while delivering devastating news about flooding that killed dozens in Eastern Kentucky and when tornadoes wiped out communities and killed 80 in Western Kentucky in 2021.
The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing also responded to Moore’s death.
“Our hearts are broken, and we will forever feel her absence,” said Blake Campbell, the organization’s information coordinator.
Moore announced in 2020 that she was suffering from uterine cancer and said she would undergo a hysterectomy as treatment. She returned to the job about a month later.
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Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33
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