Lillie Pearl Hovermale Fearnow

Lillie Pearl Hovermale Fearnow (August 19, 1881 – March 6, 1970) was an American canning entrepreneur known for creating Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew. Connoisseur magazine named the stew one of the 10 worthiest canned treats in America in 1988.

Fearnow's stew was a popular meal to serve for guests arriving from out of state because unreliable transportation meant cooking something that would stay warm until they arrived. She began to make Brunswick stew using chicken and home grown vegetables and selling it on consignment at the Women's Exchange in Richmond. The family handled all the processing including killing and dressing the chickens and growing and picking the vegetables. The stew was originally created from "onion, parsley, celery, tomatoes, chicken, potatoes, butter beans, salt, pepper, red pepper, sugar and okra." The canning factory, originally only a 20 x 40 foot building, filled about 1,000 cans per day.

The company continued to be owned by Fearnow's children and grandchildren until it was sold to Castleberry/Snow's Brands in 1999.

Personal life Fearnow was born in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia to Joseph Cassidy Hovermale and Catherine Ruppenthall Hovermale. Her parents were farmers. She married Brady Goshen Fearnow, a railroad worker, on August 20, 1905, and the couple had five children, four sons and one daughter. They moved to Hanover County, Virginia in 1919. Fearnow worked at the family cannery until her death from a stroke on March 6, 1970. She is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Henrico County.