Dr. Belle DeCormis Fears

FEARS, Dr. Belle DeCormis, died peacefully at her home at The Hermitage in Onancock, Va., on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Formerly of Accomac, Va., Dr. Fears was the wife of the late William E. Fears, a state senator from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Fears Haynes of Nassawadox, Va.; her son, Dr. Richard Bradford Fears and wife, Rebecca, of Horseheads, New York; grandchildren, Matthew Haynes and wife, Leigh, of Richmond, Va., Breton Fears of Waynesboro, Va., Sarah and Annabelle Fears of Horseheads, Elizabeth Swarthout of Horseheads, and Carolyn Nugent of Los Angeles, California; and great-grandchildren, Jake and William Haynes of Richmond. Dr. Fears was born in Accomac on February 5, 1921 to Dr. Joseph L. DeCormis II and Mabel Lewis DeCormis. She was valedictorian of the class of 1938, Accomac High School. Dr. Fears received a B.A. in chemistry from Duke University in 1942. She attended medical school at the Medical College of Virginia (VCU) and became a medical doctor in 1945. She began a private general medical practice in Accomac in 1950 after having worked at St. Mary's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, where her husband attended law school. In 1965, she left private practice to become medical director for the Eastern Shore Health District. She remained in that position until retirement in 1983. Dr. Fears was a member of the Accomack County Medical Society, the Medical Society of Virginia, American Medical Association, Northampton-Accomack Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, the Eastern Shore Community Services Board, Eastern Shore Rural Health System Board of Directors, Hospice Care of the Eastern Shore Board of Directors, and served as its medical director. She was appointed by Governor Robb to the Governor's Advisory Board on Aging and served on the board of the Eastern Shore Community Development Group. Dr. Fears was a member of Makemie Presbyterian Church in Accomac, was president of Women of the Church, clerk of the Session, and a church elder. The family will receive friends at Makemie Presbyterian Church in Accomac on Saturday, August 28, 2010 from 4 until 6 p.m. A celebration of life service will be held at Naomi Makemie Presbyterian Church in Onancock on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of the Eastern Shore, 165 Market Street, Suite 3, Onancock, Va. 23417, or to the Eastern Shore Rural Health System Inc., P.O. Box 1039, Nassawadox, Va. 23413. Memory tributes may be shared with the family at williamsfuneralhomes.com. Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.