Remembering Neva Gielow of the Bowling Green theater community

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green and theater communities are mourning the loss of one of their own.

Neva Blanche Belcher Gielow was born in 1933 in Louisiana. She was raised in Illinois by her maternal grandmother.

In 1954, Gielow married her husband, Robert Gielow, who she had two children with.

Gielow and her family landed in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1981. She would go on to earn a degree in pyschology from Western Kentucky University, then Gielow worked on campus for many years. Gielow was a long-term member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and a board member of Fountain Square Players.

Two of her fellow actors, Amber Turner and Dr. William Leonard, reflect on Gielow’s charisma.

Turner says Gielow “encouraged young people to get into theater” through various roles. Leonard adds that anytime Neva came to a play the word backstage was “Neva is here,” as many actors wanted to impress her.

Gielow was described to have impeccable comic timing and enjoyed making others laugh. Out of the numerous roles she played, her most infamous prerformance was Bernice Clifton in the stage version of “Designing Women.”

Long-time friend of Gielow’s, Joshua Ritchie, also reflected on what he remembers most about her.

Ritchie believes Gielow’s smile “could light up the room, whether she was on or off the stage.” He adds that she was the “most beautiful person inside and out,” and he will “always remember how she made everybody everybody feel.”

Gielow’s family says they would appreciate contributions to the Public Theatre of Kentucky, so her legacy can continue for generations to come.