Marie Louise Crabtree

Marie Louise Whitehead Crabtree, 94, of Mt. Pleasant, SC, widow of the late Medford C. Crabtree, passed away on Thursday, June 23, 2011 after a brief illness.  Marie's relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service which will be held on Monday, June 27, 2011 at 2 p.m. in Kerby Funeral Home, 17554 AL Highway 75, Henagar, AL.  Burial will follow in Green Haven Memorial Gardens.  The family will receive friends in Alabama one hour prior to the service.  A Memorial Service celebrating Marie's life will be held in J. HENRY STUHR MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.  The family will greet friends at the chapel from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m. 

 Marie was born in Parsons, KY on May 24, 1917, the youngest daughter of 11 children born to the late Lewis E. and Maggie McDonald Whitehead.  She graduated from Baroness Erlanger School of Nursing in Chattanooga, TN in 1943 and married Medford C. Crabtree in the same year.  As an RN, she held positions from student nurse to assistant director of nursing at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga for 41 years, until her retirement and subsequent move with her husband to Henagar, AL.  While living in Henagar, she was an active member of the Henagar Baptist Church.  A lifelong Southern Baptist, she was a charter member of two Southern Baptist churches - Westview Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN and Shem Creek Baptist Church (now Unity Baptist Church) in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  She was a dedicated Bible teacher and stayed in touch with many of her class members through her later years.  After her husband's death in 1990, she moved from Alabama to the Cooper Hall Retirement Center (The Palms of Mt. Pleasant) in Mt. Pleasant, SC to be near her daughter's family and, continued her involvement with Bible teaching at Shem Creek Baptist Church.  She was an active member of the retirement community at Cooper Hall Retirement Center for 19 years, serving as chairperson of the Sunday Vestry programs for many years.  In addition, she headed up the library committee and served on the Advisory Council.  She was an avid Duke basketball and Atlanta Braves fan, enjoying watching games regularly on TV.  And Marie delighted in playing with her great-grandsons.  She was known for her outgoing friendly spirit and "little joke" telling at Cooper Hall. 

 Marie is survived by one daughter, Mary Elizabeth Crabtree Canaday of Mt. Pleasant, SC; two grand-daughters, Elizabeth Ashley Canaday of Charleston, SC and Catherine Marie Canaday Frost, and her husband, Adam of Beverly Hills, MI; two great-grandsons, Ethan Frost and Alex Frost of Michigan; and many loving nieces and nephews, extended family members and friends.  She was preceded in death by all of her brothers and sisters and, by her son-in-law, the late Dr. Stephen D. Canaday. 

The family requests that memorials, in lieu of flowers, be made to Unity Baptist Church, 950 Whipple Road, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, or to a charity of one's choice. The family wishes to thank the residents and staff of Cooper Hall, The Palms of Mt. Pleasant, and Savannah Grace Rehabilitation Center for their loving care, friendship and support throughout Marie's life and illness.  Your friendship during Marie's life was an absolute joy to her and during her waning days a blessing to each of us.  Thank you.  A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com