Tom H. Ostrander

October 6, 1927 - January 7, 2012

Tom H. Ostrander, 84, passed away on January 7, 2012. He was born in Phoneton, Ohio to Harry and Alma (Gensemer) Ostrander. He grew up in Lakewood, OH and graduated from Lakewood High in 1945. Survivors are his wife of 55 years, Elaine (Kousoulas), 2 daughters, Sarah Brown (Lex Lemmon) of Dublin, Judy (Rob) Kessler of Mt. Vernon; 3 grandchildren, Scott (Reena Sodha) Brown of Columbus, Derek Kessler of Cincinnati and Erin Kessler of Baton Rouge, LA; brother-in-law James Kousoulas (Marilyn) of Gambier.

He served as president of the Knox Co. Community Concert Ass’n, Local 338 American Federation of Musicians, OSU Knox County Alumni Club and The Mt Vernon Players.

He was conductor of the Mt. Vernon Community Band and the MV Players Musicals for many years, and played trombone in the Knox County Symphony. As a member of the Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce, he enjoyed the After Hours Open Houses in recent years. He was inducted into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame

Tom was drafted into the US Army in 1945, his 1st quarter at OSU. He served in Japan and at Fort Hood, TX. Upon returning to OSU he was a 6 year member of his beloved OSU Marching Band. He was a charter member of the TBDBITL Alumni Band, where he served on the Board of Directors and received the Script Ohio Award. For 26 years, he was the commander of the 338th Army Band and the 122nd Army Band. He was a member of John Philip Sousa Post 1 American Legion, New York City, Amvets Post 95, Mt Vernon ( Board of Trustees) and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4027, Mt Vernon (Board of Trustees). After being a member of the first faculty at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University he later graduated from the school with a BBA degree.

In 1964 Tom moved his family to Mt. Vernon to begin his dream of owning a music store. Colonial Music was formed, and grew into an 8 store Central Ohio chain with an emphasis on Music Education, Bands and Orchestras. In 2006 the family sold the successful business to a national chain, and still operates Jet Music in Mt Vernon.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 5–7 pm with the service immediately following the visitation at Dowds-Snyder Funeral Home, 201 Newark Road, Mt Vernon, OH 43050. Memorial contributions may be made to The Script Ohio Club, 6491 Northland Rd, Worthington OH 43085.

Tom was a member of the marching band in 1945 and 1950 through 1954. He played baritone. He was the recipient of the 2010 Script Ohio award.