Background
Crabtree was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1929.
Crabtree was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1929.
He attended the University of California, Berkeley, University of Missouri, and George Washington University to receive his Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Laws degrees.
He enlisted in the United States Army and, at the rank of captain, served in Europe and of Korea from 1948 to 1953. He moved to Florida in 1956. He was a student traffic court judge while in university.
From 1961 to 1962, he served as an attorney on the Sarasota County Planning Commission, Sarasota County Tax Assessor and for the city of North Portuguese Charlotte.
He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives as a Republican for Sarasota County in 1966 and served until 1976.
He is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He is a member of the American Bar Association.