Barton James Taylor

On December 26, 2021, Barton James Taylor, loving husband to Maureen Erickson Taylor and proud stepfather to Katie Bronicki and Dan Sullivan, lost a two year battle with cancer at the age of 69. He faced his illness with the same selfless courage, kindness, decency and even humor that he brought to his own life and shared with his friends and family every single day.

For Bart, life itself was an adventure, and he never wasted an opportunity to live it to the fullest. Born in San Francisco and a graduate of Sequoia High School in Redwood City and the culinary school at San Francisco City College, he soon combined his talents as a chef with his passion for travel, moving to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands to help open and run a restaurant. Upon returning a year later he worked at many popular San Francisco restaurants, including the Cliff House and at Pier 39. His culinary skills eventually led him to the Lodge at Bear Valley, CA, where he met Maureen, the love of his life. Bart was a bright light in the world, loved and respected wherever he went, often becoming a mentor and father figure to his young employees, many of whom still send him Christmas cards to this day.

Bart had a voracious appetite for living and was never one to sit still for long. Immediately upon graduating from high school, he and his cousin and lifelong friend Eric Johnson embarked on a six week adventure driving the length of Baja California before there was a paved road. He and Pat McCune, a friend since childhood, later traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Eric was then working. He stayed for six glorious, fun-filled months before running out of cash and working his way back home with Pat on a Norwegian cargo ship. He and wife Maureen traveled to Sweden multiple times to visit friends and adopted family, Sara Heldt and her two sons, Isak and Jakob. Most recently Bart and Eric traveled to Coomera, Australia to visit his cousin Gina Johnson, where the highlight of his trip was assisting Gina and her husband Pat in raising two tiger cubs.

After stays in San Francisco and San Clemente, Bart and Maureen ultimately landed in the beautiful coastal town of Bandon, Oregon. As he did wherever he went, he touched the lives of many while there. Upon hearing of his passing on the day after Christmas, the Mayor of Bandon said of Bart, “He was one of the nicest people in the community and his efforts and his spirit will be missed.” The sentiment is shared by anyone who ever knew him.

Bart is survived by wife Maureen, mom Phyllis Taylor, siblings Greg Taylor, Steve Taylor and Nancy Davis, and a large extended family that will miss him dearly. A celebration of Bart’s life will be located in the Santa Cruz area in the summer of 2022, Covid pandemic permitting. Those wishing to attend please send email information to ericksondesigns@gmail. com.