Joan Crabtree

August 27, 2024

In Loving Memory (1925-2024) ~

Devoted wife, daughter, and auntie.

A lover of children, all dogs,

Queen and Country

Joan Crabtree, of Nelson BC., passed away peacefully in her sleep at ninety-nine years of age at her residence at Mountain Lakes long term care facility. Thank you to all the staff at Mountain Lakes for their kind care of Joan while she resided there.

Born in England to Earnest and Elizabeth Bluett, Joan endured the affects of World war II as a teenager and in the early 1950's, Joan left all she knew as home and country and immigrated to Canada.

Arriving in Nelson and reuniting with her uncle and cousins, Joan found employment at the Ministry of Forests in 1955. During her 15 years of service with the forestry, she made some life long friends along the way and met her future husband, Ralph Crabtree.

Ralph introduced Joan to the great outdoors and natural beauty Canada has to offer and Joan quickly developed a love of BC's wildlife and wilderness.

Joan became very fond of the outdoors and all the associated activities and she loved to travel, camp, hike, and bird watch.

Their travels eventually took them to the southern US, travelling to both coasts and into the desert states for the winter for a few seasons of snow birding. Nelson would always draw them home however, with a great longing for their home, friends, family and the natural beauty of the area.

After Ralph's passing, which was quite hard on her, and her brief battle with cancer, Joan developed a greater appreciation for the friends she had made over the years as she relied on them heavily in Ralph's absence.

Joan having a soft spot for children is a bit of an understatement and this translated into her financial support of two important causes for children in BC. Joan generously gave to both the BC Children's Hospital and locally to Nelson Friends of the Family.

If you are considering commemorating Joan's life in some way, please consider giving to either of her two favourite children's causes as a meaningful way to do that.

A celebration of life will be held for Joan on Wednesday, the 16th of October at the Prestige Lakeside Resort in Nelson, at 2:00 PM. After this time together, Joan's ashes will be placed in the Crabtree memorial plot at the Nelson Cemetery.