Oliver Kern Devin Jr. (“Kern” to all who knew him) was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on Nov. 19, 1929. Surrounded by family on Bainbridge Island, he passed away quietly on the evening of Sept. 6, 2014 due to kidney failure.
Besides being my adored father for more than 50 years, he was a beloved husband, brother, uncle, cousin, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a local artist who loved and lived on Bainbridge Island for 53 years and whose work has been represented by galleries in Europe, Hawaii, Baltimore and Seattle as well as in various galleries and venues on Bainbridge Island.
Born in Hawaii, he was given his first pair of shoes for the flight to Seattle when he was 7 to attend school on the mainland, which is probably why he loved going barefoot as often as possible, and never went anywhere without his swimsuit!
While fishing one summer in Alaska as a teenager, his boat and crew were shipwrecked for a number of days and eventually rescued by the Coast Guard. At the time it was big news, as his Uncle Bill Devin was the mayor of Seattle and he received a hero’s welcome upon arriving home.
His experience being rescued played a role in his desire to enlist in the Coast Guard during the Korean War, times which eventually took him to Baltimore, Maryland.
Upon discharge from the Coast Guard in 1954, he discovered his artistic gifts and attended the Maryland Institute of Art.
It was in Baltimore where he met our mom, the love of his life, Joyce, whom he married in 1955. In 1958 my older brother Peter was born, and our young family moved to Bainbridge Island in 1961.
He founded the graphic design firm, O.K. Devin, Inc., which became one of the leading firms of its time, with a distinguished book of clients.
He loved the ferry commute every morning to work in the penthouse suite of the Colman building with a great view of the activity on Elliot Bay with Bainbridge in the background. I was born in 1964 and my younger brother John in 1968, making our family complete.
In 1975, when Peter went off to college, our remaining family of four moved to Switzerland for a sabbatical year abroad. Kern painted in oil, still life and landscapes, selling in galleries in Nyon and Saint-Cergue.
When we returned to the U.S., he moved his business to Bainbridge Island. Never abandoning painting as pure art, he continued adding water color and ink drawing over the years.
My father was a tender-hearted soul. He would tear up when listening to beautiful music (Mozart especially), the national anthem or a heart-warming story. Sharing his faith and reaching out to others to share God’s message of hope was extremely important to him. Among the many awards and achievements my father had accomplished over the years, one of his designs — a poster of the many names for Jesus, known as the “I Am” poster, became an icon of its time with over a million copies sold.
He was a passionate man with a spirit of adventure, who adored his family and had a life-long love affair with papayas, wonton, good books, Bernardo Strozzi, soft butter, “en plein air” painting, hot plates and cold glasses, hard black licorice, laughter, seersucker shirts, “lighter than air” pancakes, home-made ice cream, the view from our home, Seabeck, popcorn, lemon meringue pie, story-telling, fresh apricots and donning a comfortable baseball cap.
Dad absolutely loved to eat out with family and friends, but he also loved to cook and found much pleasure in the creation of tasty and beautifully presented meals. His second favorite part of the meal was eating it, the first was hearing how much we all enjoyed it! It brought him great joy to bring pleasure to others through his art and cooking.
His pet peeves? The many deer that continuously ate his garden, and people who don’t follow their dreams. It broke his heart to see untapped potential or lackluster effort.
Long after “retirement,” he gave generously of his time and talent to friends and family, creating logos and design layouts for businesses, events and celebrations.
One of his Bainbridge projects was volunteering as the art director on the committee for the Bainbridge Island Public Library, designing the book, “They Like Noble Causes”: How a Community Built a Library. He truly never retired from art, as he never looked at his profession as work. Design and fine art was pure pleasure and an outlet for his creativity, fulfilling his interest in helping and communicating ideas with others. He was always learning, always growing. Even within the last few years he was working at improving his skills, painting with oils, learning from the works of Sydney Laurence — as he loved Laurence’s style and adored the subject matter — Alaska!
Kern will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by many friends from London to Hawaii who were touched by his life. Many of whom have beautiful sketches, pen drawings and watercolors representing those treasured friendships, created and gifted by him. Beauty was a template for his life, in design, cooking, creation, gardening and everything he touched — his artistic eye was always present.
Kern is survived by his wife of 58 years, Joyce Devin; his daughter Jenny Chissus and her husband Paul “Sonny” of Seldovia, Alaska; and youngest son, John Devin of Bainbridge Island and his daughter-in-law, Andrea Devin of Newport Beach, California. Kern also left behind five grandchildren: Ryan Devin and wife Julie of Littleton, Colorado; Chelsea Donegan and husband Rob of Newport Beach; KC, Devin and Marina Chissus of Seldovia; and a one great-grandchild, Elizabeth Jane Devin from Littleton; his sister Virginia Adams of Oahu, Hawaii, niece Monica Hansen and her husband Steve of Kauai, Hawaii.
He is preceded in death by his eldest son, Peter Hayes Devin, who passed away from ALS in December 2012; his father, Oliver Kern Devin Sr. in 1967; his mother, Faye Todd Devin in 1973; and niece Linda Adams in 2014.
Thank you to the many friends and great family who made my father’s life complete. He loved and treasured each one of you!
In lieu of flowers, donations in Oliver Kern Devin Jr.’s name could go to a cause he had a real heart for: the Bainbridge Public Library (1270 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110).
Though there will be no memorial service, memories or condolences are very welcome, and may be sent to: The Devin Family at 10195 Manitou Beach Drive NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 or you may sign his guest book on www.CookFamilyFuneralHome.com.
