Felton remembered as tireless advocate for justice

WILKES-BARRE – Friends and colleagues gathered inside the Burke Auditorium at King’s College on Sunday to celebrate the life and legacy of former longtime president of the Wilkes-Barre chapter of the NAACP Ronald Felton, who died earlier this month at the age of 70.

Felton was head of the NAACP Wilkes-Barre Branch for 18 years and was remembered by people who knew him best as a tireless advocate for equality and justice. Born in North Carolina, Felton eventually settled in Wilkes-Barre, where he was instrumental in putting together the city’s multicultural parade and celebration, as well as the renaming of Coal Street Park last June to Martin Luther King Memorial Park. Felton was also a veteran, serving 4 years in the U.S Air Force.

The afternoon service was open to the public and attended by Felton’s wife, Peggy, and their son, Ron Felton Jr., as well as numerous public officials, who all shared countless stories and memories.

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski presented Felton’s family with a citation on behalf Pennsylvania House of Representatives, acknowledging his many achievements over the course of his life.

Fellow members of Prince Hall Free Mansons, Golden Rule Lodge No. 15, where Felton served as past master and secretary, also paid their respects and presented a resolution in his name.

The memorial service began with members of Mount Zion choir singing “We Shall Overcome,” a popular gospel song that became an anthem of the civil rights movement, followed by an invocation from Rev. Shawn Walker.

Executive Committee member of the NAACP Toni Mathis served as program guide, introducing speakers that included Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, NAACP Vice President David Yonki, past NAACP president Constance Wynn, Pashinski, Golden Rule Lodge No. 15 member Larry Singleton, Judge Tina Polachek Gartley and Rev. Michael Brewster.

Felton was described by all as a man of great faith, who Wynn said was persistent in achieving his goals, never backing down from a just cause.

“He would come into city council chambers and he would talk about issues, but he always spoke very respectfully and was a gentleman,” said Brown.

Brown also spoke of Felton’s commitment to remembering Martin Luther King Jr. He helped establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday for Wilkes-Barre City employees, and many looked forward to his yearly recitation of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Everyone described Felton as a gifted orator, who could make the hairs on your arm stand up with his passionate, booming voice.

“When Ron spoke and quoted Dr. King, it was an experience like no other,” said Gartley. “You could hear his voice in the words and your brain processed it, but you felt it in your heart.”

It was an act near impossible to follow.

“It didn’t matter how eloquent or brilliant or funny you were. No one listened because after Ron, you were done,” she said.

The most effecting speech of all came from Felton’s son, who described his father as a loving, devoted father and husband who always tried to make everyone laugh.

“He was committed to making sure that I knew who I was and that I should be proud of my heritage,” said Felton. “He wanted me to know that there was more to my history than just slavery and that people who look like me were just as important to American history as anyone else.”

Whether he was acting as a father, husband or community leader, Felton’s work will no doubt live on through the lives he touched in the city he called home.

“He provided the best answer to what Dr. King believed was life’s most important, persistent and urgent question, and you all know it, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Gartley said.

“If anyone asked what Ron Felton was doing for others, the unanimous and resounding answer would be, ‘What hasn’t Ron Felton done for others?’”