Namesake

Sheila Tarr-Smith was born on June 14, 1964, in Bakersfield, California. She moved to Las Vegas with her family when she was two years old, she always considered herself a "native Nevadan." Sheila was a product of the Clark County School District.

She attended Tom Williams Elementary School, Garside Junior High School, and Bonanza High School. At Bonanza High School she was an outstanding athlete, earning awards in track and field and basketball. She attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on an athletic scholarship for women's track and field.

In 1984, she became the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) conference champion and was selected as Athlete of the Year by the PCAA. That same year, she was Nevada's first national Collegiate Athletic Association champion and was selected as an alternate to the United States Olympic Team in the heptathlon, a competition of eight different track and field events. Many have stated that Sheila was one of the finest athletes the state of Nevada ever produced. In 1997, she was inducted to the Athletic Hall of Fame of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 1998, she was inducted to the Southern Nevada Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1989, Sheila Tarr fulfilled a life-long dream to be a firefighter and joined the Clark County Fire Department. She was one of the first professional women firefighters in the State of Nevada. She dedicated herself to the service and safety of the residents of Southern Nevada, while paving the way for women to work in non-traditional fields. Sheila educated children of the community through her duties as a firefighter. She spoke at career day functions and stressed the importance of a good education, fitness, and the desire to follow your dreams. She contributed her time to the children of Clark County Child Haven and volunteered to help them meet their basic survival needs. At Christmas, she worked to collect funds and donated her time to shop for gifts and food for the Helen J. Stewart Elementary School Adopt-a-Family Program. She also collected aluminum cans from the fire stations to help finance special projects at Child Haven's Howard Cottage. She volunteered as a member of the Clark County Fire Department's Critical Incident Debriefing Team. As a member of this team, she helped fellow firefighters who experienced the anxiety of extraordinary traumatic or life threatening incidents.

In September 1997, Sheila was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyclinating polyneuropathy, a type of Multiple Sclerosis. Suddenly, the body she trained, nourished, and relied upon, rebelled against her. She never complained as her physical abilities deteriorated and she always maintained a positive attitude. On May 8, 1998, Sheila married Battalion Chief Steve Smith. Steve cared for her until she succumbed to her fatal disease on August 15, 1998 Sheila was 34 years old.