Kimberly (O'Neal) Crabtree
April 30, 1960 – February 3, 2026

Kimberly Kay Crabtree, a devoted mother and wife, age 65, died peacefully surrounded by family on February 3, 2026 at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Kim was born on April 30, 1960 in Des Moines, Iowa to the late Wilford L. O'Neal and Barbara Flo Danner O'Neal.  She was the second of seven children.

Kim is survived by her husband Sam Crabtree and three sons, Jacob (Audrey), John and Michael Crabtree and her two grandchildren, Penelope and Theodore Crabtree.  She is survived by her 6 siblings:  Jeffrey O'Neal, Lavonna O'Neal (Mark) Arms, Barb O'Neal (Ronnie) Hunt, Rita O'Neal (Scott) Updyke, John (Kara) O'Neal and Andrew (Lanette) O'Neal.  17 nieces and nephews and 7 great nieces and nephews.

Kim graduated from Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, Iowa in 1978 as Valedictorian and Homecoming Queen. She earned a Bachelor of Arts business degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1982.

Following college, Kim moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee and started her career teaching business office management at Tennessee Temple University and later employed by Chattem Chemical in their quality control department. She left the work force after her second child was born to focus on her family full time.

Kim met her husband Sam Crabtree in Chattanooga in 1983. They married in 1984 and were married for 42 years.

Kim will be remembered by her family and friends for her strength and grace. A strength that gave her the grace to be a gentle and kind. A sweet and caring woman who was easy to love and easily shared her love with others. Focused on family and friends, Kim loved to be surrounded by those she loved.

After her sons completed college, and started their own careers, she had time to focus on new adventures, she had a real adventurer's spirit. She and Sam traveled the globe. Trips to faraway places, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, Manchu Picchu, Norway, Tasmania, Zanzibar, and many others. National Parks where among her favorite places. On her last trip in the United States, she got three new stamps in her National Park Passport Book, Everglades, Biscayne, and the most difficult to reach in the lower 48, Dry Tortugas National Park.

She enjoyed many outdoor activities, white water rafting, kayaking, snow skiing, snowmobiling, and bicycle riding. She snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, drove a snowmobile across the continental divide in Colorado, rode a bicycle down from the top of Pikes Peak, rode a hot air balloon across the Great Serengeti, rode a bicycle in the Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, and she kissed the Blarney Stone.

In addition to all of her other adventures, Kim and her three sisters would plan an annual Girls' Getaway trips. Just the four girls getting away for a week at the beach, or mountain retreat, or national park. And she always had time for the grandkids. Quality time to spend with loved ones.

She had a charitable heart giving her time as a volunteer at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga and funding a college scholarship at her high school in Pleasantville Iowa. She asked that in lieu of flowers and cards, any gifts or donations be made in her honor to the following:

Pleasantville Community School EXCEL Scholarship. Mail contributions to Robert Friday, c/o Kim Crabtree Memorial Scholarship, 415 Jones Street, Pleasantville Iowa, 50225.

Or, CHI Memorial Foundation, 2525 DeSales Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404, or donate online.

A celebration of Kim's life and her many adventures will be held on Feb 28 in Des Moines Iowa near her extended family.