Founder of beloved SLO County bookstore remembered for spirit, love of community
The front door to Coalesce Bookstore opens like the arms of a friend — ready to welcome anyone inside a cozy world of books curated by its late shopkeeper, Linna Thomas.
“When I envisioned the store, I wanted a name that would mean bringing all kinds of people and activities together,” Thomas told The Tribune in 2003. “I wanted to bring together differences. The name seemed to speak what I hoped we could create.”
After running the bookstore for more than 50 years, Thomas died peacefully of complex health conditions while surrounded by loved ones on May 31.
Family and friends remember Thomas’ dedication to her community and her warm, engaged presence.
One of Thomas’ favorite books was “Markings” by Dag Hammarskjöld. She often quoted the author: “For all that has been, thank you. For all that is to come, yes!”
This quote captured her graceful spirit, her family said. She tackled life’s obstacles with resourcefulness, hope and optimism, while welcoming the good days with open arms.
“If she were a creature of pure spirit, she would have lived forever,” Hannah Heller said of her aunt.
The early years of Coalesce
While living in a farmhouse in Oregon, Thomas and her soon-to-be business partner Janet Brown dreamed up Coalesce: A bookstore that would serve as a resource center for the community.
“At that time, books were the resource. If you’re in crisis, there’s no internet — there’s books,” Heller said. “It really was a place to find information and community, and that didn’t exist somewhere else.”
At the farmhouse, Brown and Thomas bonded while swapping stories over mugs of hot chocolate. They could often be found sitting on the kitchen floor, lost in conversation while homemade candles brewed on the stove. Thomas especially loved hearing stories about Brown’s time as a Benedictine nun.
In 1973, the pair traveled to Morro Bay and opened Coalesce Bookstore in a house on Harbor Boulevard.
Ever resourceful, Thomas built bookshelves out of redwood siding that she pried from an abandoned water tower nearby. She organized the bookstore by theme, with cookbooks in the kitchen and children’s books in the nursery. She lived in the back of the shop for many years, her niece said.
“Everything came so organically into the store,” Heller said. “She had this idea that would be beautiful and colorful.”
During the ‘70s, Morro Bay bustled with fishermen, ranchers and mechanics — a strong contrast to Brown and Thomas, who were “a couple of hippie girls” who shook up that working-class town, her husband Lance Gorman said.
The pair hired belly dancers to perform at the bookstore’s one-year anniversary, and one passerby was so shocked by the display that they called the police, Gorman remembered with a chuckle.
Even if Coalesce was more bohemian than Morro Bay was used to at the time, people loved the bookstore. Gorman remembers fishermen scanning the shelves and leaving with stacks of books for entertainment while at sea.
In 1978, Brown gave birth to her son, Jesse, and Thomas became the sole proprietor of Coalesce. Brown eventually moved to Salem, Oregon, but the pair maintained a deep friendship even across state lines. Brown was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and eventually died of the illness, Gorman said.
“I am so very thankful for the great good fortune that brought you into my life those many years ago,” Thomas wrote in a letter to Brown while she was sick. “I love and cherish you more than words can say, Ms. Brown. I will always carry you in my heart.”
Running the bookstore was a labor of love — and not necessarily a lucrative one at the start, Gorman said. For the first decade of ownership, Thomas worked as a waitress at The Fishbowl to pay the bills. But she loved the work because she loved the community, he said.
“She loved people, and that’s how she built this place,” Gorman said.
Thomas also believed in living a balanced life. When the bookstore closed for the day, she liked to garden, read, make bookmarks and spend time with her husband. The pair enjoyed riding to the desert on Gorman’s Norton motorcycle.
“That feels so foreign these days,” Heller said. “It’s hard to imagine building something with so much balance.”
Heller described Thomas and Gorman’s 51-year-marriage as a “symbiotic relationship” full of love. When Thomas had a dream, Gorman helped her achieve it.
For example, when Thomas wished for a water fountain in the back garden of Coalesce, Gorman built it the way she envisioned.
“I was in love with her when I met her, and I was as much in love with her when she passed,” he said.
Building a community resource center
In 1982, Coalesce moved into a cozy, brick building at 845 Main St. Flowers, ferns and pothos spill out of their pots in the back garden, ushering customers to a small chapel at the back of the property.
From the heart of the shop, Thomas wove a network of community support, Gorman said.
Not only did they sell books, but Coalesce also offered pamphlets on domestic violence and sexual health. The bookstore was part of the Safe Haven Network, which supported domestic violence survivors. Such resources for women’s health were rare during the ‘70s and ‘80s, Gorman said.
In the chapel, Thomas hosted weddings, memorial services, yoga classes, poetry readings, writer’s workshops and live music. She even published a handful of locally-written books on the Coalesce Press.
“I love peddling books, but it’s important to interact with the community in a positive way,” Thomas told The Tribune in 2009. “For example, I offer books on topics that can help people improve the quality of their lives. And the chapel is definitely a community resource.”
Her family shared a poem from the Tang Dynasty that exemplified the welcoming atmosphere of the shop.
“You are a thousand miles away/ There are always two cups at my table,” the poem read.
In a word, Thomas’ loved ones said she had “presence.” Thomas moved through life with intention and was present with every moment of her day. She was an engaged listener, and she made people feel seen, heard and loved.
“I never once felt like she was rushed in a conversation with me,” Heller said. “Everyone felt like Linna was their best friend.”
Thomas also did much of her work by hand, Heller said.
Each purchase included a bookmark that Thomas had made herself, because she wanted every customer to leave the store with an item she had touched. She also did all of her book-keeping in “beautiful handwriting,” Heller said.
“It’s her way of being present in the process,” she said. “She treated everything like that.”
37-year Coalesce employee Joanne Hand said people enter the shop as customers and leave as friends, wrapped in “a warm feeling.”
That was just Thomas’ way, she said.
“We’re here because we love what we do,” Hand said. “It’s because of the presence of Linna’s energy.”
With the support of longtime bookstore staff and Thomas’ family, Coalesce Bookstore and the chapel will remain open and continue to host community events, her husband said.
Thomas often said, “I trust the community to know what it wants,” and her family and friends will continue to run the shop in alignment with that ethos, Gorman said.
Those who enter the bookstore may notice the aroma of Thomas’ favorite incense, which floats through the shop like a peace offering. Photos of people Thomas knew and loved cover the walls, framing the bookshelves with smiling faces.
“It captures that weird, funky Coalesce vibe,” Heller said of the photos. “When you try to describe it, it sounds crazy. But when you see it, it’s so beautiful.”
Details of Thomas’ celebration of life will appear on the Coalesce Bookstore website and Facebook page as they are developed, Gorman said.
Thomas’ family assured the community that the bookstore will continue the way she envisioned — as a place of warmth and support.
“Linna’s spirit will be there,” her husband said.
This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
