Felton was born February 26, 1927 in Richmond County, North Carolina.  He attended Mineral Springs High School in Ellerbe and served two years in the military in Germany.

On the GI Bill of Rights, he attended college at Hampton University in Virginia.

He married Jean Walden Capel in 1954 and they have three sons.

In 1959, Felton joined the Los Angeles- based Century Metalcraft Corporation as a sales representative for the firm’s cookware.  He led the firm’s international division in sales in his first year and became a southeastern area sales director.

At the same time, he got involved in the local community, being elected in 1959 to the Southern Pines Town Council.  He was re-elected five times and served four years as Mayor Pro Tem and four years as the Town Treasurer.  In 1968, he was appointed to the North Carolina Board of Conservation and Development.

In the mid 1970’s, Felton and six other executives purchased the assets of Century Metalcraft and created Century Associates with seven affiliated companies.  He served as chairman of Century Associates of North Carolina.

He served on the corporate board of directors for Carolina Power & Light, Wachovia Bank & Trust, First Savings Bancorp, and Durham Life Insurance Company.

He served as a director of the United Way of North Carolina and chairman of the Moore County Red Cross.

He is a volunteer and financial supporter of Fayetteville State University.  He served as chairman of the FSU Board of Trustees and then as vice chair and member of the FSU Foundation Board.  Fayetteville State named and dedicated its sports arena to Felton J. Capel in 1995.

He joined the Rotary Club of Southern Pines in March 1974 and served as president in 1978-79.  He was district governor in 1981-82.

Felton is an active member of the Harrington Chapel Baptist Church in Southern Pines and served as president of the Adult Sunday School Class.

His grandson, Jeff Capel (Felton J. Capel III), was a basketball star at Duke University and his grandson, Jason was a basketball star at UNC-Chapel Hill.

– PRID Ken Morgan (2017)