Mary Perkins King

Mary Perkins King, mother, sister, artist and friend to many passed away on April 29th at the age of 85.  After a brave and decades long battle with Multiple Sclerosis, she succumbed to complications from Covid.

She is survived by her sister, Anne Perkins, her former husband, Thomas King, her children Stephanie (King) Haig and husband Scott Haig, her son Peter King and his former spouse Caron, five grandchildren, two great-granddaughters as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews and their relatives.

Mary was a California girl.  Born in Los Angeles, she lived in walking distance to the Santa Monica beach, enjoyed tennis, swimming and horseback riding with her two older brothers, sister and parents.  She graduated from the Westlake School for Girls and earned a BA in Art and teaching from UCLA.

Spying beautiful Mary Perkins, Navy Lieutenant Tom King introduced himself to Mom at a debutante party in LA.  The two were soon married and moved to Boston. Mary taught art in the Newton Public Schools and supported Tom through years of graduate school.  They settled in Weston MA, where Mary lived for over 50 years and raised their two children, Stephanie and Peter. 

 She was an active member of St Peter’s and an Episcopalian since birth.  Mary treasured her years volunteering as a docent at the MFA in the Egyptian, Impressionist and Colonial American exhibits.  She was an artist,  potter and ceramics instructor to children and adults in her home studio.  In 1984, she received  a grant from the Massachusetts Arts Council and oversaw a group of artisans, each person creating a different clay replica of  Weston’s historic town buildings.  

Mary adored spending summer  in her beautiful cottage on a bluff in Cape Cod  with family and friends, and loved nothing more than hours spent talking with loved ones, and visiting art museums and exhibits.  In addition to numerous family members,  Mary had a remarkable number of life long friends.

Gifts in Mary’s memory can be made to either

Elizabeth Seton Nursing Home  https://www.elizabethseton.org/donate/ or Land’s Sake in Weston,  https://landssake.org.

The family is holding a private burial service.  Memorial services to celebrate Mary’s life will take place later this summer.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Perkins King, please visit our floral store.