Bill Fears, colorful former state senator, dies

Media General News Service
Published: August 27, 2008

Former state Sen. William E. Fears died this week on the Eastern Shore, which he represented for 24 years in the General Assembly.

Mr. Fears, 87, died Monday at this home in the Hermitage on the Eastern Shore in Onancock. A memorial service is scheduled at 1 p.m. Friday at the Hermitage.

A former World War II bomber pilot, Mr. Fears was a garrulous and colorful speaker in the Virginia Senate, where he presided over the Commerce and Labor Committee. Former Sen. William F. Parkerson Jr. of Henrico County often referred to him as “the Bull Halsey of the Eastern Shore” after the famously blunt U.S. Navy admiral.

“He was never without an opinion or ever at a loss for words about the way things should be,“ states an obituary for Mr. Fears.

Mr. Fears’ colorful speeches on the Senate floor ultimately led to his political demise. In 1991, he criticized legislation to make drunken driving laws stricter and said, “We’re going to take all the sport out of drinking and driving.“

The remark was used against him in his 1992 re-election bid, which he lost to Thomas K. Norment Jr., who still holds the seat in the 3rd Senate District

Mr. Fears was born in Jonesboro, Ark. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati. He served as a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in World War II.

A former patent attorney in Pittsburgh and New York, he moved his law practice to Accomac, the seat of Accomack County, in 1950. His wife of 64 years, the former Belle DeCormis, is a native of Accomac

He served as Commonwealth’s Attorney in Accomack County before being elected to the Virginia Senate.