Devin Ossman, beloved son of Bettine Wallin of Santa Barbara, Calif. and David Ossman of Freeland, was born on Sept. 28, 1962 in Glendale, Calif.

He knew from the age of eight that he wanted to play the flute and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1984 as a young master of the instrument.

Devin had lived most of the past decade on Whidbey Island where he taught and performed frequently with various chamber groups for events ranging from contra dances, weddings and church services to last year’s “solo” concert at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts which earned him the praise and love of the music community.

Devin was found March 19, 2008 near the Kautz Creek trailhead on Mount Rainier. He had been lost on the mountain since Monday and his body was discovered by search-and-rescue personnel mid-day on Wednesday.

In addition to his mother and father, his stepfather Lawrence Wallin and his stepmother Judith Walcutt, Devin leaves his cherished wife Candy Houser, her four children whom he considered his own —Klemet, Eve, and Katrina Preus, Rachel (Preus) and Rob Mattern, as well as his half-brothers Orson and Preston, his sister Alizon and her husband Anthony Harris and their four children, Kris, Zach, Jordana and Gavrielle. To each and every one, Devin was known and loved as a profound and beautiful soul.

Devin’s work as a composer and player can be heard on the two CD releases recorded at WICA by No Band Is An Island. He last worked with his father as the duo performed Lord Buckley’s version of “The Pied Piper of Hamlin” for a radio broadcast, “Live From The Islands.”

Devin was to perform a second WICA concert on May 3. His family is keeping the evening for a celebration of Devin’s life.

A scholarship fund is being established in his name for young Island musicians and composers and in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the “Devin Ossman Memorial Fund” held in his name at the U.S. Bank in Freeland.

Devin’s entire family sends thanks to the Whidbey community for their expressions of love, sorrow and shared loss.