Jimmy Wayne Crabtree was born on August 13, 1946. He graduated from Strawberry High School and was drafted into the Army where he served for two years. He married Linda Doyle, his high school sweetheart on August 13, 1966. After being honorably discharged from the Army, he came home to help run the family farm. He and the family moved to Norman, Oklahoma where he attended Hillsdale Free Will Baptist Bible College and began working and teaching in the church. Later on, they moved back to Saffell where he continued to farm and opened a local feed mill. Jim retired from White Rogers where he was a maintenance supervisor. He also served several years on the school board for the River Valley School District. Jim enjoyed working in his wood shop and machine shop. He and Linda enjoyed fishing, camping and RVing across the country together.
Jimmy loved his family and was especially proud of his granddaughters and great-grandchildren. Most of all he loved the Lord and was willing to serve in any capacity in the church. He was a lifelong member of the Mt. Harmony Free Will Baptist Church where he served as deacon and taught Sunday school classes for over fifty years.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Estle Crabtree and Lorena (Saffell) Hubbard and one brother, Tony Crabtree.
He is survived by his wife, Linda Crabtree of the home; daughter and son-in-law, Beth and Brad Maxwell; son and daughter-in-law, Greg and Lisa Crabtree; three granddaughters, Jennifer Johnson (Colten), Stacy Durham (Clint) and Rachel Dunbar (Colton); four great grandchildren, Carson Durham, Waylon Durham, Baker Dunbar and Blaire Dunbar; one brother, Gary Crabtree (Lynda); one step sister, Regina Brown (Al); and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at the Mt. Harmony Free Will Baptist Church with Greg Crabtree and Greg Tucker officiating. Burial will follow in the Ward Cemetery in Strawberry with arrangements by Qualls Funeral Home of Cave City, Arkansas.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 1, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the church.
Pallbearers will be Clint Durham, Colten Johnson, Colton Dunbar, Anthony Crabtree, Jody Doyle, Kenny Dingman and Chuckie Doyle.
A special thank you to Gayla Dingman and the staff at Attention Medical and to Legacy Hospice and all of the medical teams that helped the family care for him during his illness.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mt. Harmony Free Will Baptist Church Memorial Fund at 450 Highway 25 Saffell, Arkansas 72572.
