William Earl Fears (September 28, 1920 – August 25, 2008) was a long-serving Democratic member of the Senate of Virginia from the 1960s to the 1990s.

He left home at the age of 13 to live with relatives on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in New York.

After military service, Fears earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati.

He defeated incumbent Senator E. Almer Ames Jr. "a Byrd Organization stalwart"[2] to secure the Democratic nomination and was subsequently elected to represent the 1st District.

In 1971, the Virginia General Assembly was redistricted and Senator Fears' home in Accomac County was placed in the 3rd District which included part of the Virginia Peninsula in addition to the Eastern Shore counties of Accomac and Northampton.