MARIEMONT — Robert W. Crabbs, superintendent of Mariemont City Schools for 12 years, died Dec. 27 at Jewish Hospital.

        Known for his candor and wit, Mr. Crabbs, 83, was a highly regarded administrator and educator.

        He favored creativity and innovation in education. The goal, he once said, was to instill a sense of responsibility in students, to prepare them for the future.

        During his tenure, from 1966 to 1978, Mariemont schools maintained high standardized test scores that were consistently above the national average.

        A native of Columbus, Mr. Crabbs received a bachelor's degree in education from Ohio State University where, he admitted in a 1978 Enquirer interview, he was initially more interested in football than in getting an education.

        He “tried to play (at Ohio State) for one year and found he was too small up against those big guys,” said his wife, Agnes.

        Instead, he became serious about his studies and “good education became his life,” she said.

        After graduation in 1941, West Chester Local Schools hired him to teach and coach. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Crabbs enlisted, serving in the Army Air Corps for four years.

        When he returned, he taught at Hebron Local Schools in Licking County while working on a master's at Ohio State.

        Over the years he became superintendent of Ross Township Schools in Greene County, Twin Township Schools in Ross County, and Whitehall City Schools near Columbus, before going to Mariemont in 1966.

        He stayed at Mariemont after leaving the superintendent's post in 1978 and consulted for suburban schools and WCET-TV.

        In addition to his wife of 58 years, he is survived by daughter Sarah E. Crabbs of Florence.

        A memorial service is 11 a.m. Saturday at Mariemont Community Church, 3908 Maineville Rd. Memorials: Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati 45229; or MariElders Senior Center, 6923 Madisonville Rd., Cincinnati 45227.

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