DATE: Sunday, September 7, 1997             TAG: 9709070149

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Paul South 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   58 lines

THIS MANTEO EX-MAYOR WAS NEVER ONE TO SIT STILL

Mollie Fearing's friends tell the story again and again, of a time years back when her father, Keith Fearing Sr., owned the local power company.

``Whenever there was a hurricane or northeaster and the power was out, Mollie would get in the truck and sit between her father and Raymond Wescott, who was the serviceman, when they went out to make repairs,'' friend Karen Riley recalled. ``Mollie didn't sit in the truck. She'd get out with a flashlight and shine it on the pole so that Mr. Wescott could see to climb up and make repairs. She wasn't about to sit still.''

Mollie Fearing, a former mayor of Manteo, booster of tourism and the arts, member of the Coastal Resources Commission and one of Dare County's most vocal cheerleaders, died unexpectedly last week. She was 72.

News of her passing hit hard, in part, because of all the things that spelled out who she was and the kind of person she was, death didn't seem part of the equation.

``She was so full of life,'' Riley said. ``There was just always something to do. And gosh, she got things done.''

Many of the things she accomplished have been well-chronicled. As a supporter of the Roanoke Island Historical Association, she was a housemother of sorts to the actors and actresses who performed in ``The Lost Colony.'' She served on a state panel studying insurance issues, specifically homeowners' insurance in coastal areas. She was troubled, as many local insurance executives are, about the refusal of some large insurance firms to provide coverage for coastal homes, a practice she saw as geographic discrimination.

But in her public, as well as her private life, Fearing called 'em as she saw 'em. And in an age of mealy-mouthed politicians who posture more than a magazine model, there were no gray areas for Mollie. Everything was in black and white.

Sometimes, it ruffled a few feathers. But plain speaking, a virtue that these days seems to be closeted away, does that to some folks.

``There was no doubt where Mollie stood on things,'' Riley said. ``But every stand she took was because she loved certain things. She loved Dare County. She loved Manteo. She loved the arts. She loved her family.''

And Mollie Fearing loved holidays. She wanted to share that with local newcomers who were unable to get home for festivities with their faraway families.

For those among us fortunate enough to receive an invitation to one of those holiday dinners, it was a marvelous mix of good food, good talk and lots of laughter. At the risk of sounding a bit chauvinistic, Mollie Fearing was one of the few women I've ever known who was as conversant about Carolina basketball as she was about cooking.

And each Easter, she held an egg hunt for many of the children in the nearby neighborhoods. The smiles on little round faces tell the story of those egg searches on her emerald green lawn, smiles Mollie eagerly gave away.

There are those who knew her far longer who will speak more elegant tributes to her. But when I think of her, I will remember the story of the young girl with the flashlight standing strong in the roar of a blackening gale, trying to help Mr. Wescott get up the power pole.

Mollie Fearing, you see, didn't sit still.

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