Long-time Kentucky sign language interpreter Virginia Moore dies

LOUISVILLE, Ky (WTVQ)- Kentucky’s long-time sign language interpreter Virginia Moore has passed away.

Governor Andy Beshear announced her death on social media Sunday, saying she died Saturday.

During the Covid pandemic, Moore was instrumental in helping with the governor’s daily coronavirus briefings during the height of the pandemic.

She spent more than 25 years with the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and served as its executive director.

In 2020, Moore was diagnosed with uterine cancer.

In a statement, Beshear said she taught the importance of leading with love and inclusion. The statement on Twitter reads: “Kentucky, I have some heartbreaking news to share. Virginia Moore, the Kentuckian who taught us all the importance of leading with love and inclusion, passed away yesterday. Virginia was a rock of stability and grace during the pandemic. 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. I will miss her greatly, but as Virginia would remind us in our grief: we will get through this; we will get through this together.”

The cause of her death is unknown at this time.