SMITHFIELD, N.Y. — Billy Leitch died peacefully on Jan. 17, 2015, at his home in Smithfield, N.Y., at the age of 79. A lifelong resident of Dutchess County, Billy was born in Poughkeepsie on Aug. 5, 1935, the son of Katherine (Murphy) and Oswald J. Leitch of Millbrook. Christened Oswald W. Leitch, he was invariably known as Billy for his entire life. He graduated with the class of 1952 from Millbrook High School. Billy followed his father’s footsteps into a lifelong career as a professional horseman, and was widely known for his eminence within that profession. He spent many decades in the employ of the Winslow, Bontecou, McLane and Hall families in Millbrook. Billy also distinguished himself as an active participant in the Millbrook Hunt, achieving an unbroken record of 62 years of continuous fox-hunting seasons. A member of the Professional Horseman’s Association since 1955, he served twice as president, twice as secretary and, until his death, as vice president. He was also a life member of Saint Joseph’s Church in Millbrook.On Nov. 15, 1958, he was married to Mary Mechare of Millerton at Saint Bernard’s Church in Sharon. Well-mated and inseparable for life, Billy and Mary recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary as partners and truest of friends. Billy Leitch is survived by his devoted wife, Mary, and a small legion of surrogate children, including many from the families of their employers, who were raised, taught, counseled and encouraged by their Uncle Billy and Aunt Mary. They will all deeply mourn his loss.Billy Leitch leaves behind him a sea of admiring attributes, some of which include his kindness, his skills, great courtesy, modesty, engagement, a neat and careful dresser, always well-groomed, a gift for mutual respect, a keen observer of human life and its foibles, and a marvelous narrative ability to vividly convey the now-vanished world through which he passed, with its characters and its consequences. A quiet graceful reticence and polished wit — all qualify Billy as perhaps the best and last of nature’s gentlemen.Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Allen Funeral Home on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook. A celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church in Millbrook. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, P.O. Box 834, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866; or a charity of the donor’s choice.
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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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