Donald Felton

Obituary for Donald G. Felton Donald Felton, 83, died peacefully on Wednesday, February 15, 2017. Don was born to Edward and Margaret (Ellis) Felton on November 29, 1933 in Cleveland, OH. He moved with his family to Oceanside, CA and attended Oceanside/Carlsbad High School. He enjoyed participating in athletics, with his talent in football earning him a scholarship to the University of Southern California. After earning a Business degree, he began in the investment business and worked 25 years as a stockbroker in Beverly Hills, California until 1981. As an early investment with a friend, he bought a Culligan Soft Water franchise in Bakersfield in 1963. He bought Culligan Sacramento in 1967. In 1981, Don left Bache & Co. in Beverly Hills to spend his work time and energy on his expanding Culligan businesses. He bought Culligan Woodland in 1990 and several more water businesses along the way. He enjoyed working with his son, Mark, starting in 1974. At the time of his death, Don was president of Nor-Cal Water, Inc. and Felton, Inc. representing the Culligan brand name in nine counties in north central California. On August 27, 1956, Don married Julie Lorton in Sutton, Surrey, 20 miles south of London, England, and they celebrated sixty years of marriage together. They raised their family in Encino, California, moving to Sacramento in 1995. Don was an avid sports fan and attended many major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, multiple All-Star games and the Olympics. He loved to travel the world with his wife and was able to visit all seven continents, including Antarctica. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing, especially with his family. He was a member of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church. He was active in the water conditioning industry trade associations and the Culligan Dealer’s association. Don is survived by his wife Julie, son Mark and his wife Sue of Carmichael, CA, daughter Sheila Silver and her husband Ron of Portland, OR, daughter Cindy-Ann O’Connor of Ypsilanti, MI, and daughter Sherri Felton and her husband Dean Adelizzi of Germantown, MD. Other survivors include eight grandchildren, Josh, Adam, Corey, Luke, Ashlee, Lea, Sarah, and Annabelle. He was known as Umpa Don to his grandchildren, and he knew no greater pleasure than watching and interacting with them as they grew toward and entered adulthood. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Margaret, and his uncle and aunt, Norman and Aline Felton. In celebration of his life, visitation will be from 11:30am -1:00pm on Saturday, February 25th at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Carmichael followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 pm at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in memory of Don to support Cardiac Rehabilitation at UC Davis Health. Checks made out to UC Regents may be sent to: UC Davis Health, Health Sciences Development, 4900 Broadway - Suite 1150, Sacramento, CA 95820. Please reference IMO Donald Felton – Cardiac Rehabilitation in the memo line.

Donald Felton

November 29, 1933 - February 15, 2017