Julia Piatt Crabb's Obituary
Julia Berg Piatt was born in Jackson, Mississippi, to William Chapman Piatt and LoElla Ross Piatt. Julia’s mother had various businesses and Julia was forced into working as a child, modeling for the dress shop and dancing competitively for the dance studio. Julia graduated from Murrah High School and Mississippi State College for Women (the “W”). It was while at the “W” that she met Michael A. Crabb, Jr, who was studying at Mississippi State University. They were married in 1964 and remarkably stayed married until his death earlier this year.
Julia started her teaching career in Yazoo City, Mississippi, while waiting for her future husband to finish college. After they married and moved to Memphis, she taught at various schools before taking on the thankless job of raising three children. She coached several soccer teams, one all the way to the Bantam Finals, and went camping with the Cub and Boy Scouts more than was expected. She went back to teaching at Collierville High School in the early 1980’s where she taught theatre, communications, English and psychology. She also supervised the publication of the school newspaper. Mrs. Crabb’s ability to wrangle high school students into producing excellent theatre was legendary. Her original concept show, “Rockin’,” was awarded the audience prize at the 1984 Thespian conference in Muncie, Indiana.
Mrs. Crabb retired in 2005 and enjoyed traveling to see her grandchildren, visiting Europe, getting together with her “mafia” girls and dining out almost every night (she only had a kitchen because it came with the house). She and Mike had season tickets to the Memphis Redbirds and enjoyed watching the Cardinals whenever they could find them on TV.
Mrs. Crabb was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She leaves her children, Michael A. “Trey” Crabb, IIII (Lisa) of Cincinnati, OH; Lynn Crabb (Tammy Seltzer) of Washington, DC; and Bill Crabb (Cheryl) of Memphis; four grandchildren, Mary-Margaret Crabb McMullen (Daniel) of Brisbane, Australia; Chip Crabb of Celebration, FL; Dana Seltzer-Crabb and Liam Seltzer-Crabb of Washington, DC; her sister, Linda McClelland of Dallas, TX; and her brother, Bill Piatt (Anne) of Wilmington, NC.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119 (901) 767-8930. “Where Memphis comes to remember, since 1924.”
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