Lee’s Summit store to close after death of owner: ‘A hole that cannot be filled’

The Feb. 14 closing of Blue Heron Design will leave a hole in the heart of downtown Lee’s Summit.

Customers, employees and business colleagues are grappling with this loss while still mourning the tragic death of longtime store owner Peggy Doughty, who died last May in a car accident.

The cozy business with the bright blue storefront has been stocked with unique gifts, handmade jewelry, ethically sourced items and an eclectic mix of goods since Doughty opened its doors in 2000.

As customers learned of the store’s closing earlier this month, they reacted with both sorrow and understanding, said store manager Anna Eulinger.

“We have a lot of sad people,” she added. “We totally get it. We’re all sad, too. Even though people are upset, a lot of customers are coming in and sharing memories of shopping in the store or interacting with Peggy.”

These memories range from a man who bought his wife’s wedding ring in the store to people who worked with Doughty to design a special piece of jewelry they wear every day. Others share stories of shopping with their young children, now grown.

Blue Heron’s welcoming environment drew many customers to the store.

“This has always been a safe haven for anybody,” said Lisa Winer, assistant manager. “If you’re having a rough day, you pop in just to be here and absorb the energy.”

This positive atmosphere and the store’s many years in business can be attributed to Doughty, according to staff members.

“It’s a little bit of a cliché, but I always said that she would light up a room,” Eulinger said. “She’d walk in the store, and the energy would completely change. It was like the sun coming out.”

Doughty was also a savvy businesswoman who launched her store years before downtown Lee’s Summit went through revitalization to become a vibrant shopping district.

“She paid attention to what people liked, what people are currently shopping for and she would adapt to that.” Eulinger added.

“Peggy was just one of a kind,” said Laurie Riggs, Blue Heron employee and a former store manager. “She never met a stranger. She just had a way of helping people without them really realizing it. There’s just so many stories of how she would help people and you’d never know it because she didn’t talk about it. She was very kind and compassionate.”

One of the people Doughty helped was Dave Eames, owner of Fossil Forge in downtown Lee’s Summit.

“Peggy had a major impact obviously on downtown and where we are today,” he said. “On the personal side, she lit a fuse so that we were able to have our shop down here.”

One day when Eames was shopping at Blue Heron, he asked Doughty about opening a shop, buying property and her thoughts about downtown Lee’s Summit.

“She could not have been more encouraging to me,” he added. “She told me her story about when she found the building she’s in and how she walked right over to the bank and got a loan for it and went for it. That’s what I needed to hear because it motivated me to take the leap like she did.”

Eames opened Fossil Forge in 2015, and Doughty continued to provide support and advice.

“She was an absolute lighthouse for me in terms of her direction and encouragement,” he added. “I would pop in and ask her a question about banking or finance or credit-card machines and all the kinds of small business questions that I knew nothing about but she did. She was my friend before I knew she was my friend.”

Doughty was the first business owner to order a custom metal sign from Eames, pushing his shop toward commercial signage. Custom metal signs now make up almost the entirety of Fossil Forge’s business today, he said.

“She always wanted good things for downtown and for the city,” he said. “She was an amazing person, and it’s not been the same since she’s been gone. Hearing that her store’s going away, that’s going to be a hole that cannot be filled.

Eames added that the Valentine’s Day closing date is fitting for “a store that really loves Lee’s Summit and so did the owner.”

Blue Heron opened years ago when downtown Lee’s Summit was far from a thriving shopping area, he said.

“Peggy was one of those pioneers who come in first and take a chance and believed in her little store and who should really be on the Mount Rushmore of downtown folks who stuck their neck out and risked a lot to open a store here,” Eames added.

Doughty touched countless people in the community and beyond, Eulinger said, and store employees continue to hear from local customers as well as vendors from throughout the world.

“If everyone just took the kindness that she showed people and went forward with that in their own lives, that would make a difference,” Riggs said.