William Bates Crabb III's Obituary
William Bates Crabb, III, of Saint Johns, Florida, went home to be with our Lord on March 1, 2024, at the age of 82 after suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years. A hard working, jovial and fun-loving father, uncle, brother and grandfather, he will be missed by all. He is predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Sara Brackeen Crabb. Sara and Bates started their family in Memphis, Tennessee, and also made homes in Jacksonville, Florida; Tifton, Georgia; Berryville, Virginia, and finally retired in Saint Johns, Florida.
Bates was born on March 23, 1941, to the late William Bates Crabb, II, and Lillian Evon McGarrity Crabb in Memphis, Tennessee. He spent his childhood mostly in Memphis with a few years in Windy Hill near Ripley, Tennessee. Bates’ father died when he was just 16, so he went to work to help support his mother, younger sister and brother while he finished school, sometimes working up to 3 jobs at a time. He graduated from Central High School in 1959 and went on to college at Memphis State University (University of Memphis) where he met his wife, Sara. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1965, Bates went to work full time for Sears, Roebuck and Company at their Memphis Crosstown Catalog Fulfillment Center. He served in many different positions at Sears, transferring to Jacksonville, Florida, back to Memphis and then finishing his career closing the last Sears Catalog Fulfillment Center in Jacksonville as General Manager in 1994. While at Sears, he and Sara bore and raised daughters Bet and Sally. Taking an early retirement, he was fortunate to spend about a year just fishing before going to work for Orgill, Inc. as General Manager for their new Tifton, Georgia, distribution center. We liked to call that semi-retirement interlude his time as “The Old Man and the Sea”, complete with beard. Bates really enjoyed his second career with Orgill and helped to plan, build and operate another new distribution center for them in Inwood, West Virginia, in 2000. About this same time, Sara & Bates took in and raised their grandnephews-3 year-old twins Brandon and Bryton as their own sons. Bates retired from Orgill in 2012 as Vice President, Northeast Region, and he, Sara and the boys moved to Saint johns, Florida, to be near Bet, her husband, Eric, and their three boys.
Bates liked to dabble in many different hobbies like camping, fishing, hunting and wood working, but always enjoyed spending time with his family including his several grandsons, and passed along his love for cars, airplanes and especially ice cream. Bates always had good (and bad) stories to tell, having never met a stranger. Two of his most legendary life stories were that he once played pool with Elvis at Graceland and he and his buddy caught an uncle’s entire bale of cotton on fire while smoking corn silk cigarettes as young boys (big trouble for that one). Active in the church where he lived, he often volunteered in activities, enjoying serving alongside others. In his later years, one would often find him on his front porch swing whistling and chatting with the neighbors as they walked by.
Left behind with fond memories are his daughters, M. Elizabeth “Bet” Lentz (husband, Eric), and J. SallEvon “Sally” Crabb, his sons, Brandon Guy and Bryton Guy, his sister, Dolores Fitzgerald (late husband, Joe), and his brother, Gordon Crabb (wife, Saundra). Grandchildren Stephen Mitchell (fiancé Megan), Alex Lentz, Ben Lentz, Wyatt Guy and Layla Bennett will certainly miss his generosity and tall tales, as will his many nieces and nephews.
His visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, March 10, 2024 at Memorial Park Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, March 11, 2024 also at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Entombment will be in the Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Mr. Crabb's services have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis Tennessee 38119. (901) 767-8930.
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