Central Ohio - www.centralohio.com - Throwing a bullseye

Friends and family hold dart tourney in honor of Pam Tacket Crabtree
By LOREN GENSON
Gazette Staff Writer

Pam wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Friends and family of Pam Tackett Crabtree remembered her with a dart tournament Saturday.

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A unique benefit organized by the First Capital Dart League remembered not only Crabtree's love for darts, but her love for animals.
"The money raised from the dart tournament will go to help animals here in Ross County," said Crabtree's best friend, Helen Mankin. "She loved animals, and she would take any cat in if she saw it outside."

Crabtree died in September after a long fight with cancer.

"She battled it as long as she could," Mankin said.

Pam helped pioneer the First Capital Dart League and began throwing darts in 1982, her husband, Sam Crabtree, said.

"She played in Columbus every year and was a ten-year all-star," Crabtree said.

Friends and family recalled the times they had playing darts with Crabtree before she was sick.

"I've been throwing darts a long time with Pam," said Tony Woods, a retired Chillicothe teacher and coach. "That's why we all came out here today."

There were many enticing aspects of darts that drew Pam and her friends towards the sport, Woods said.

"Back when we started there weren't many leagues, but it's always been a fun sport, it doesn't cost anything, and you can do it with all your friends. Pam was great, and she always had a lot of fun playing."

Whether you liked darts or not, Pam would find a way to get you playing, Mankin said.

"I never played darts until I met Pam," Mankin said. "She basically made me start. She just had a great affect on everybody's life."

Crabtree's friends hope to make the fundraiser an annual event, said First Capital Dart League President John Mankin.

"When she passed away we wanted to do something like this," Mankin said. "We're hoping to make it an yearly thing."

Central Ohio - www.centralohio.com - Throwing a bullseye