Lydia Taylor

Lydia Dawn Taylor, accomplished pool player and former manager of several Peet’s Coffee & Tea locations in San Francisco, died of pneumonia in her San Francisco Bay Area home on Feb. 8, 2019. She was 38 years old.

Lydia had been sick for some time but thought it nothing worse than a rough cold she couldn’t shake. Family and friends remain in shock, as nobody, including Lydia, realized the severity of her illness.

For several years, Lydia competed in both 8-ball and 9-ball pool, representing multiple bars in the Bay Area both at the local level within neighborhood leagues and at national competitions of the American Poolplayers’ Association in Las Vegas. Her teams enjoyed some success, bringing home several trophies.

Bay Area chapters of the APA organized a memorial tournament and fundraiser on Feb. 23 at Draw Billiards in Berkeley, where Lydia worked, with funds going towards her memorial and associated costs.

For nearly a decade, Lydia managed several Peet’s locations around San Francisco. A former artisan roaster, Lydia was passionate about coffee and traveled with the Peet’s coffee buyers to estates in Costa Rica to study the craft and bring her expertise home to her customers.

Lydia moved to the Bay Area in 2006 from Lawrence, where she had studied journalism and anthropology at the University of Kansas, graduating in 2002.

She wrote fiction, nonfiction, and poetry throughout her life. Several of her works are being collected for posthumous publication.

In addition to the pool tournament on Feb. 23, a public memorial was held on Feb. 22 at The Hearth in San Francisco, one of Lydia’s favorite bars. A Lawrence memorial will be held on June 1, at Lydia’s favorite LFK bar, Replay Lounge.

Other services will occur on or near her family’s ranch in Chase County, Kansas where Lydia was born and spent her childhood. She will be laid to rest there with her ancestors.