Tamara Lee Smith

Tamie is survived by her 5 year old daughter Karigan, parents Steven and Pamela Blank, brother Weston (Cami) Blank, nephew Nickolas, niece Jenna, her aunt Marsha and many wonderful cousins, aunts, uncles and friends who loved Tamie throughout her life. We’d like to especially thank her co-workers at Fayette County Hospital for their caring and support.

As a child Tamie enjoyed an assortment of pets and spending summers at horseback riding camp with the Girl Scouts at Trefoil Ranch. As a young adult Tamie married Kevin Smith and began working as a veterinary technician at Wilson Veterinary Hospital in Bountiful, where she remained for 15 years. During that time she devoted her life to rescuing and fostering countless homeless animals, she also learned and taught sign language to help pet owners communicate with their deaf pets. In 2002 she moved to Pahrump, Nevada with Kevin where they later divorced. In 2007 Tamie moved to a cute rural town in Illinois with her partner Bill McLeran. There she earned her Medical Coding Certification and worked as a Certified Coder at Fayette County Hospital. In 2011 she and Bill were blessed with the birth of their daughter Karigan.

In her 46 years on earth Tamie housed what seemed a thousand pets; she was determined to save them all. The more spirited the animal, the more she liked it; perhaps because she herself contained that same spirited soul. Dogs, cats, rats, toads, snakes, turtles, goats, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, llamas, cows, horses, pigs, birds, fish and even a skunk all found a home and friend with Tamie. If you saw a car parked in the middle of the road, door wide open, and a woman moving an animal to safer ground; that would be our Tamie. If Tamie came to your house, you were sure to find her making friends with the household pets. It was in the presence of animals when Tamie’s best nature always shown brightest. It is this great love of animals, her most treasured gift, which she lovingly shared with her child, Karigan. For just like her mom, Karigan cannot pass any animal without stopping to love it.

Tamie we wish you a joyful reunion with your beloved friends over the Rainbow Bridge. Surely there you are whole and strong, just as we remember you in our dreams of days and times gone by.

A memorial service will be held Saturday February 18, 2017 at Valley View Memorial Park and Funeral Home 4335 West 4100 South West Valley City, Utah 12pm-1pm; with family gathering 11:30-12pm. A luncheon will follow at 2pm at Wes and Cami’s home for those who wish to visit.

In lieu of flowers we hope you would stop to help an unfortunate animal in Tamie’s honor.