Genevieve, known as Ginny, was born on November 30, 1931 in Winchester, Massachusetts. She grew up in the Horn Pond House overlooking Mount Towanda in Woburn, Mass. She loved the outdoors, reading, singing and acting. At age 16 she sang for Arthur Fiedler. At age 17 she was invited to New York by Dorothy Hammerstein. She went on to perform in 48 musicals and plays. Genevieve became a marquee name in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway musicals in the 1940’s and 50’s. She was Laurey in Oklahoma, Magnolia in Showboat and Julie in Carousel.
She left the limelight to marry the love of her life, Robert “Bob” Gelles, a Captain in the Army Signal Corps. Genevieve had told Bob that she wanted seven children. But after they had their first child, Glenda Lynn, they realized she was their seven in one.
Genevieve and Bob threw wonderful parties in the lovely home they built together in Houston. Whether it was their giant New Year’s Day party or a gathering for Sports Car Club, Porsche Club, the Chili Appreciation Society, or a birthday, Ginny was a gracious hostess that helped you feel right at home.
Ginny was a multi-talented creative artist. She was the lead soprano at both Trinity Episcopal Church and Temple Beth Israel in Houston. She volunteered at Southwest Memorial Hospital. Everything she put her hand to, she did magnificently. Her family treasures her drawings, paintings, rugs, poetry, short stories and children’s books.
Ginny and Bob moved to Sun City, Texas in their retirement, to be closer to their precious grandchildren, Christopher and Benjamin. They gave back to their community by volunteering at Georgetown Hospital. Ginny was also an active member of the Georgetown Hookers, a group of women who practiced the ancient colonial art of wool rug hooking. The rugs she made are so beautiful that her daughter describes them as wool paintings.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert Gelles, as well as her parents Andrew and Mildred Crovo. She is survived by her daughter Glenda Lynn Sims and son-in-law Scott Alan Sims; her brother Gene Crovo; her two sisters Lorraine David and Brenda Stevens; and two grandsons, Christopher Robert and Benjamin Griffin Sims.
