- Date Of Birth: November 17, 1954
- Date Of Death: May 1, 2021
- State: Idaho
Sheila Villella Rhodes, age 66, of Rexburg, Idaho, died May 1, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 17, 1954, the only child of Edna Pelton Villella. Shortly after her birth, Sheila and her mother returned to Rexburg.
She enjoyed her youth and spent a lot of her childhood with her grandparents at their meat plant, Pelton Meat Processing, northwest of town. The jerky her grandparents sent with her to 4H camp made her very popular. Sheila was always up for an adventure growing up. When her friends came up with an idea, she was up for it.
Sheila graduated from Madison High School. While still in high school, she began working at the Rexburg Police Department. She was dedicated to her job for 47 years where she was the office manager and served with three police chiefs over the decades. She was a hard worker who never complained. She helped to keep the department running smoothly.
Sheila married Claude “Sonny” Rhodes and they later divorced. Although Sheila did not have any children of her own, she was considered the Department Mother to all those fortunate enough to work with her and a grandmother to their children. Sheila attended all of her “adopted” children and grandchildren’s activities and the special events in their lives.
She loved to travel. From trips to California with her mother while she was growing up to many adventures with co-workers and friends. She loved the Playmill Theatre, Bar J Wranglers, and watching sports of all kinds, especially seeing the Denver Broncos play in person at Mile High Stadium. She loved horses and old western movies. Sheila always felt that she was born in the wrong era, she would have loved to live in the setting of a 19th Century Western.
When Sheila made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. As stubborn and independent as she was, she was twice as generous and thoughtful. Her love, support, and kindness touched the lives of all she came in contact with.
She was proceeded in death by her mother.
