LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Virginia Moore, the American Sign Language Translator for Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) daily COVID briefings, passed away yesterday. The governor announced the news Sunday.

In his statement, Beshear said she taught the importance of leading with love and inclusion.

“Virginia was a rock of stability and grace during the pandemic,” he said. 

Moore was a staple at the governor’s daily briefings throughout the pandemic, helping to translate Beshear’s announcements and information into ASL. The novelty of her presence even made her a bit of an internet celebrity, leading to the launch of a Facebook video series called “Meet Virginia” for the Kentucky Hands and Voices page. In the series, she answered questions that children sent in to her.

In 2020, Moore was diagnosed with Stage 1 uterine cancer and underwent a hysterectomy. She shared that doctors had removed all the cancer before her return to the governor’s daily briefings in November of that year.

Speaking with Spectrum News 1 in 2020, Moore said sign language was the first language she learned.

“My parents are deaf, both Mom and Dad. I have a deaf sister. I have a deaf brother, and I have two other hearing sisters. So, my family taught me sign language. That was my first language,” she said. 

According to her biography on the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Moore was a graduate of Indiana University and held several interpreter certifications, including National Association of the Deaf Master Certification, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf CI/CT Certification and a National Interpreter Certification.