NORTH CANAAN — Everett “Bud” Lee King, 77, of Old Turnpike Road passed away May 22, 2011, after a battle with cancer.He was the husband of Beverly Ann (Heath) King for 55 years. Bud was born July 10, 1933, at the former Geer Memorial Hospital. He was the son of the late Catherine Rose (Van Vlack) and Charles Henry King.Bud served in the United States Marine Corps from 1951 to 1954. He served as a corporal in the Korean conflict.Bud was employed by Northeast Utilities for 37 years and retired in 1991. He was a member of the Canaan United Methodist Church all his life. He was an instructor for the Hunter Safety Program in the late 1960s. He was a lifetime member of the Northwest Detachment of the Marine Corps League. He also started the Young Marines in Lakeville and served in the organization for many years. He was a lifetime member of the AMVETS and the VFW.Bud loved his animals and all animals. He enjoyed many years of small-time farming with his chickens and ducks after many years of farming in East Canaan and working his draft horses at fairs. In addition to his wife, Bud is survived by his wonderful loving children, Konrad and his wife, Regina, of Sheffield, Mass., Teresa Aitken and her husband, Scott, of North Canaan, Mark and his wife, Nancy, of Falls Village, Thomas and his wife, Linda, of Southfield, Mass., and his adopted son, Richard Thomen of Hilham, Tenn.; his 11 grandchildren, (“the King boys and the King girls”) whom he loved more than anything in this world, Jason, Jonathan and Jacob King all of Sheffield, Joshua of Becket, Mass., Jordan, Kayla and Ryan King of Falls Village, Sierra King of Sheffield, Karisa King of Southfield, Christopher Aitken of Asheville, N.C., and Joseph Aitken of North Canaan; his sisters, Pauline Garfield of East Canaan and Althea Marshall of Calabash, N.C.; a brother, Alan King of Nokomis, Fla.; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.In addition to his parents he was predeceased by his adopted son, Robert Thomen.Bud’s family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Dr. Kruger and the oncology staff in Torrington and Sharon, Dr. Janelli and Dr. Catania and the staff in these offices. Bud could not have fought all his medical battles without the support in these offices.A military service of Christian burial will be held at the Canaan United Methodist Church on June 10 at 11 a.m. in North Canaan. Burial will follow at the Hillside Cemtery in East Canaan. There will be no calling hours.Memorial donations may be sent to the Northwest Detachment of the Marine Corps League, PO Box 844, North Canaan, CT 06018, the Canaan Fire Company, PO Box 642, North Canaan, CT 06018, the North Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps, PO Box 178, North Canaan, CT 06018 or the VFW Couch-Pipa Post 6851, 104 South Canaan Road, North Canaan, CT 06018.Arrangements are under the care of the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home in North Canaan.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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