John Louis Crabtree, 79, of Holmen, passed away peacefully at home on November 26, 2014. He was born in Paullina, Iowa on July 26, 1935 to John and Velma (Fegebank) Crabtree. He married Rita (Widhammer) on July 6, 1963.

John graduated from North Division High School in 1953. John served in the United States Army overseas in Korea. He has worked in retail for most of his career with his last couple of years spent at TJ Maxx in Onalaska. Throughout his life, he enjoyed traveling, camping and fishing with his beloved wife, Rita.

John is survived by his wife, Rita; 3 daughters, Chris (Terry) Wehrle of Holmen, WI, Cathy (Steve) Chizzo of Stevens Point, WI, Nancy (Steve) Freer of Livingston, MT; 4 granddaughters, Nicole and Natalie Shepherd, Katelyn and Stephanie Chizzo; brother-in-law; Fr. Nicholas Widhammer; sister-in-law, Joan Crabtree; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Velma Crabtree; 3 brothers and 1 sister, Eugene, Wince (Juanita), Donald (Ruth), Janet (Charles) Rosenheimer; along with his parents-in-law, Franz and Celia (Kuehnl) Widhammer.

The family would like to thank Dr. Chad Pedersen and the rest of the staff at Gundersen Health Hematology Oncology department as well as the Radiation Oncology department. A special thanks to Gundersen Health Hospice services for making John’s last days comfortable.

A celebration of John’s life will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 pm on (tomorrow) Sunday, November 30, 2014 at the Coulee Region Cremation Group, 133 Mason St., Onalaska.