WHEELING - Country music lost a legendary performer Monday, when 96-year-old Doc Williams died at his home in Wheeling.
Born Andrew John Smik in Cleveland, Ohio, "Doc" came to Wheeling in 1937 to perform with Jamboree USA and to participate in WWVA broadcasts. His daughter, Barbara "Peeper" Smik, said her father and mother, the late "Chickie Williams," always felt at home in the Friendly City.
"He always considered Wheeling and West Virginia his home," she said. "He had opportunities to go elsewhere, but Mom was born in West Virginia, and they always wanted to come back here to their roots. We (the couple's three children) grew up in a settled way."
And Wheeling embraced Doc and his family. Since he and Chickie performed frequently with their three daughters - Barbara, Madeline and Karen - on stage, the entire family was well-known among country music fans throughout the northeastern United States and Canada and by local residents.
Today their grandson, Andy McKenzie, is mayor of Wheeling.
"I was very close to my grandfather, and he was a great man," McKenzie said, noting Doc would have turned 97 in June. Full story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment