FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- A global foundation that supports type 1 diabetes research is mourning the loss of television legend Mary Tyler Moore, who died Wednesday.
Moore was a major supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
"She will be greatly missed," Lauren Sivewright, coordinator for JDRF in Northwest Arkansas, said Thursday. "I can definitely say for certain, we were all very upset by the news yesterday."
Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes right before the start of her solo sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Fourteen years later, the actress used her celebrity to raise funds for JDRF.
"It’s so encouraging for me," Sivewright said. "I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes since I was three and it is so exciting for me to see a woman like Moore who has lived such a long vibrant healthy life,"
The local branch of the foundation in Fayetteville serves as a support group and meeting place for parents with children who have the disease.
"The doctor can tell us what we need to do, but the emotional support from other parents and other kids, that is what is the most important," Catherine Elhert, whose two children have type 1 diabetes, said.