Doc & Chickie Williams
1914 –

Click here for the Wheeling, West Virginia Hall of Fame Web Site

He was born Andrew John Smik on June 26, 1914, in Cleveland Ohio

In 1952, the Doc and Chicky Williams show toured the island of Newfoundland for three weeks (the people there were avid listeners of the Wheeling Jamboree on radio WWVA).

This was before the Trans-Canada Highway was complete, so Doc had to load his car into boxcars and travel around the island by train to get to his show dates. After their appearance in St. John’s, a group of about 100 fans gatheredto say good-bye at the train station, and many were in tears.Some school children sang Doc’s popular song “Roses are Blooming”by heart, as a farewell gesture.  ( Source : Doc Williams web site)

The new photos below of Doc and Chicky Williams have been unearthed recently by Beverly Davis of St.John's ..(formerly of Carbonear.)

 click for larger images
 

Editors Note: One of his stops was at the Bond Theatre in Carbonear. That building could hold about 300 people and I recall the theatre owner (my Dad) telling me that Bond Street was full of people who had to be turned away from the door. This performer agreed to appear on the landing of the fire escape about 10 feet above ground to sing a few tunes so the people in the street could hear and see him.

November 18 2007 

Chickie Williams  1919 - 2007

SMIK, Jessie Wanda Crupe (Chickie Williams,) Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and country music entertainer, 88, 

of Wheeling, died Sunday, November 18, 2007, in the Bishop Joseph H. Hodges Continuous Care Center, Wheeling, after a lengthy illness.

She was born February 13, 1919, in a farmhouse in Bethany, W.Va., to Harriet Ann and John Lester “Fred” Crupe.

Her early childhood was spent in the West Alexander and Claysville, Pa., areas. She was a graduate of Washington High School, Washington, Pa.

On October 9, 1939, she married Andrew J. Smik, Jr., (Doc Williams), and traveled throughout the Northeastern U.S. and Canada with the Doc Williams and the Border Riders show for more than 50 years.

One of the Wheeling Jamboree’s brightest stars, she was loved by her fans as “The Girl with the Lullaby Voice.” Her 1948 hit recording, “Beyond the Sunset” with the reading “Should You Go First and I Remain,” was her most requested song. She leaves behind a legacy of beautiful music through her recordings.

Wanda, as her husband fondly called her, was a Christian who loved God, and her family, friends, and fans. She enjoyed cooking, baking pies, and being surrounded by her family and friends.

Doc Williams, her husband of 68 years, survives, along with their three daughters, Barbara (Peeper) Smik, Madeline (Pooch) Johnson, and Karen (Punkin) McKenzie; four grandsons, Andy McKenzie, David Johnson, Ryan Johnson, and Courtney Ferguson; three great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Mrs. Lester Crupe (Gladys); one niece, Debra Jewell Mark; and three nephews, Frederick Crupe, Denver Crupe and Robert D. Jewell; and several great-nieces and great-nephews.

Her older brothers, Lester “Boss” Crupe and Harry “Bud” Crupe; and younger sister, Harriet Jewell, passed on before her.

Friends will be received on Friday, November 23, 2007 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m., at Kepner Funeral Home, Elm Grove, 166 Kruger Street, Wheeling, W.Va.

Services will be held on Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 10:30 a.m., in the First Baptist Church, 1470 National Road, Wheeling, with Bob Wolfe officiating.

Burial will follow in Parkview Memorial Gardens in Wheeling.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church, 1470 National Road, Wheeling, WV 26003.

Personal condolences may be offered to the family at www.kepnerfuneral.com.