Former WV Gov. Arch Moore, 91, passes away

West Virginia's longest-serving governor, Arch A. Moore Jr., died Jan. 7 in Charleston at age 91 just one day after his daughter, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was sworn into office.

Marshall County native Moore was battling heart trouble and dementia.

Arch Moore

He began his political career at age 28 by winning his uncle's former seat in the House of Delegates. 

He was married to Shelley Riley Moore for 65 years. She died in September 2014 at age 88.

The Moores were parents to Shelley Moore Capito, Lucy Moore Durbin and Arch III.

Shelley Moore Capito's office issued this  statement:

“Dad loved the state of West Virginia as if it were a member of our family. Serving West Virginians was at the core of his very being and he cherished every moment of it.”

Moore attended Lafayette College and West Virginia University, where he met his wife during a blind double date.

He was elected to Congress in 1956 and stayed there until he became governor in 1968, a role he repeated in 1972 and 1984.

In 1990 Moore was convicted of mail fraud and spent two years in federal prison.