Shelley Riley Moore (July 15, 1926 – September 13, 2014) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

who served as the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

of West Virginia from 1969–77, and from 1985-89 during the tenure of her husband, former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Arch A. Moore Jr. Arch Alfred Moore Jr. (April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from West Virginia. He began his political career as a state legislator in 1952. He was elected the 28th and 30th governor of West Virgi ...

and the mother of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from West Virginia since 2015. A me ...

. Moore's twelve-year tenure was the longest of any first lady in West Virginia's history. Moore founded the West Virginia Mansion Preservation Foundation in 1985 to preserve the state Governor's Mansion. She was the mother of West Virginia politician,

. Moore's grandchildren, Moore Capito and

Riley Moore Riley Moore (born July 1, 1980) is an American politician who has served as state treasurer of West Virginia since January 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates for the 67th district ...

, are also politicians. Moore was born Sadie Shelley Riley in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, on July 15, 1926, the daughter of Sadie Wardlow (née Wellens) and Jacob Lewis Riley. While earning a degree in education at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, she met

, whom she married in 1949. She taught school in Pennsylvania for several years before her husband entered politics. After serving for a dozen years in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Arch Moore was elected Governor. As First Lady, she gave speeches throughout West Virginia and appeared at college campuses, vocational facilities, library dedication ceremonies, and before civic and religious groups. She took an interest in promoting the West Virginia Governor's Mansion and offered public tours of the mansion. She also conducted televised tours and started the West Virginia Mansion Preservation Foundation to help restore and maintain the mansion."West Virginia's First Ladies", West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007. Moore died, aged 88, on September 13, 2014, at the Arthur B. Hodges Center in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

. She and her husband were residents of

Glen Dale, West Virginia Glen Dale is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,514 at the 2020 census. Glen Dale was incorporated in 1924 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Shelley Riley 1926 births 2014 deaths First Ladies and Gentlemen of West Virginia Historical preservationists American educators West Virginia University alumni People from Miami People from Glen Dale, West Virginia Moore family of West Virginia