Deborah Anne McNeely

Deborah Anne McNeelyBloomington-born actress, artist, writer, and activistpassed away in Haiku, Maui, not long after her 51st birthday, inside the tiny home shed constructed with her own two hands. With views of Haleakala and the Pacific Ocean, on a clear day, she lived as shed long dreamt: off the grid, solar panel electricity, grey water collection, little distinction between indoors and outdoors. Inside this home she finished the novel and memoir on which shed worked for more than decade, continued her long study of world religions, and maintained a strictly vegan lifestyle.Deborah was born to Mrs. Elsie Catherine Katz McNeely (19122000) and Dr. George Bradley McNeely (19121990) on June 11th, 1958, the youngest sister of Kristine Marie (Messitt), George Bradley III, and Timothy Patrick.Seven years younger than her nearest brother and nineteen younger than her eldest, Deborah was, in many ways, an only child with smatterings of cousins around town. Her mothers cousin, Patti DeSchepper, long-time Bloomington resident who passed in 2013, remembered Deborah as a spirited child, full of aspirations that differed greatly from her peers, She wanted to go to clown school and join the circus. She spent hours upon hours practicing the unicycle in the cul-de-sac near my house with her cousins watching with endearment and fascination. She spent her summers swimming at Bloomington Country Club and her high school years in drama club and cheerleading. She was Central Illinois Junior Miss in 1975, competed in the Illinois Junior Miss pageant in 1976, and had a long list of state speech competition wins for original comedy, humorous interpretation, and readers theater. But, she was most invested and proud of her roles in Dolly, I Remember Mama, The King I and other plays. She graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1976.Deborah studied acting at St. Nichols Theater Company in Chicago (75-76)during which time she worked on Anne Burrs Mert Phil and William Hauptmans Domino Courts alongside actor William H. Macy and playwright David Mametand the Playhouse Theater (76-78) in New York, returning to Bloomington and her roots in summer theater at 20. She married Michael Nelson, a Normal-based actor, in 1979, with whom she spent many seasons acting in Miller Park Outdoor Summer Theater. The two eventually moved to Chicago, continuing with theater while working their day jobs as waitress and lamp repairman. Deborah and Michael parted ways in 1989. Soon after, she started a life of moving between a more traditional, urban existence (a theater job, continuing her art on the side) and non-traditional lifestyle in rural, small town, arts communities (living off her art and some-times off the grid, and maintaining small jobs on the side). Between 1990 and 2009, she lived in Asheville, NC; New Orleans, LA; Brooklyn, NY; Greenwich Village, NYC, NY; The Far Rockaways, NY; Eugene, OR; Yelm, WA; Olympia, WA; Brooklyn, NY; Long Island City, NY; Mineral, VA; and Haiku, Maui; and she travelled extensively through England, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and Egypt.Deborah was a long-time employee of Film Forum, an independent arts theater and cultural institution in Greenwich Village, New York. She was proud of her time there and the opportunity to interact with famous and emerging artists and filmmakers on a daily basis. Deborah was a lifelong student and practitioner of the arts with experience in glassblowing, ceramics, stone carving, pencil sketch, and paper manipulation.She is survived by her three siblings, 12 nieces and nephews and their 21 children. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, May 16th, at 10 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bloomington, where visitation will one hour prior to services.