Member of Schaumburg's singing Atcher Sisters mourned
This story was updated to reflect cancellation of a July 30 memorial gathering in Nashville, Tennessee. The July 22 event is still planned.
Cecily Atcher Wingsong, daughter of former Schaumburg mayor Bob Atcher and a performer with him in the Atcher Family Singers, died earlier this month at the age of 62 after a battle with cancer.
Even after the Atcher Family Singers disbanded, Wingsong kept performing - first with her sister Chris Atcher Murov as the Atcher Sisters and in the group Wyld Oats, and then with new collaborators in groups including New Orleans-based Luzianne.
Murov said that while she stopped performing more than 20 years ago, it remained a lifelong passion for her sister.
"I think she came out of the womb wanting to be a musician," Murov said of Wingsong. "She was really going to keep pursuing that no matter what."
Just under a year ago, the family, as well as Schaumburg officials, mourned the passing of Maggie Atcher, Bob Atcher's widow and longtime performing partner. The former mayor himself died in 1993.
Current Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson said his memories of the entire family are strong, including Wingsong.
"She was just a beautiful young lady," he recalled. "Her voice was clear as a bell. Such a gorgeous voice! She lit up any room she walked into. Anyone who was lucky enough to know her was fortunate indeed."
Murov said she and Wingsong remained true to their original folk roots as the Atcher Sisters, but moved more toward a commercial country sound and even a little rock 'n' roll with Wyld Oats.
"We traveled all over the country with Wyld Oats," Murov said.
In 1988, Wingsong moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career as a solo performer and songwriter. She also spent five years in New Orleans as a member of the band Luzianne.
In more recent years she was moving back toward a more Americana sound and living in a country home with horses and pets in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee.
Murov said both she and her sister ended up in different areas of Tennessee, seeking out rural environments that resembled the Schaumburg of their youth ... when Schaumburg High School was just being built.
Wingsong's last name was a spirit name given to her through her study of the spiritualism of the Lakota culture, Murov said.
A celebration of Wingsong's life is planned from 2 to 6 p.m. on her birthday, July 22, at the Armour's Hotel at 321 Main St. in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee.