SHEILA MCCABE CURRAN

1993 INDUCTION TO THE RHODE ISLAND AQUATIC HALL OF FAME

            Sheila entered the Rhode Island swimming scene in 1956 when, at age 12, with only 8 months of training, she astounded everyone by capturing the Women’s 400 yard freestyle championship in an AAU meet at the Providence Central Boys’ Club.  Under the tutelage of Leo Sarcione and Bud Latham, Sheila continued her championship career by winning numerous regional and national titles in age group and open events.

            From 1956 to 1960, she excelled in both sprint and distance events.  Versatile and proficient, Sheila won championships in the 100 yard freestyle, 200 yard freestyle, and 250 yard freestyle, 110 yard breaststroke, 200 yard breaststroke, 100 yard backstroke, and the 400 yard individual medley. 

            Sheila competed in the 1959 Women’s Senior National five-mile swim in Grand Rapids, Michigan and went on to compete in the trials for the Pan American Games in East Lansing, Michigan. The following year she finished third in the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller nationwide five mile swim amid a powerful field of entrants from all parts of the country.

            During her college years, Sheila taught swimming for the Joseph P. Kennedy Junior Foundation in Washington, D.C., instructing mentally retarded at the home of Eunice Shriver.  She also served as a United States intern in both the Washington and Providence offices of Senator Pell.

            After graduating from Bryant College in 1996, with a BS in Business Education, she joined the Peace Corps and was stationed at Guyana, South America, where she taught swimming in her spare time.

            Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1968, Sheila became an Education and Training Officer at Air University, Montgomery, Alabama, and later Administrative Officer at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

            Sheila is married to Harry Curran and is the mother of Harry (16) and Helen (15).  She is presently a Special Education Teaching Assistant for the Warwick School Department.