Felix M. Torres-Colon Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Felix M. Torres-Colon of Willingboro, New Jersey, passed away on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice in Mt. Holly. He was 62. Born in Fort Lewis, Washington, the son of Maria Torres and the late Felix Torres-Burgos, Felix was a graduate of Pemberton High School and Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He also completed graduate coursework in city planning at MIT. Felix was empathetic, intelligent, wise and willing to listen to other people's perspectives. He used humor and laughter to skillfully challenge BS―the Harvard professors had nothing on him. He always told the truth and brought generosity, authenticity, joy and warmth to the lives of everyone he touched. Felix was in the forefront of efforts to cultivate racial equity, diversity and inclusion. He mentored and collaborated with many professionals. His legacy will continue in their work. Felix was a veteran leader in the community development field, bringing decades of social justice, community engagement and real estate development experience to his work. He was the executive director at New Kensington Community Development Corp. (NKCDC), a community-driven non-profit and chartered member of the NeighborWorks network. NKCDC works with residents and local businesses to advance social equity and economic empowerment in the Fishtown, Kensington, and Port Richmond neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Under Felix’s leadership, NKCDC developed 51 new units of affordable housing and new office space at Orinoka Civic House, expanded staff to include 11 new Community Health Workers, brought new home repair partners to Kensington, helped over 500 people buy their first home, and brought trauma-informed care practices and an equity lens to its work. Prior to NKCDC, Felix was the Director of Program Development at Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society (SJCS, a nonprofit devoted to improving quality of life and creating safe neighborhoods through homeownership in Camden, New Jersey). Before SJCS, Felix led Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) agencies in Baltimore, Maryland, and Manchester, New Hampshire. Earlier in his career, Felix taught at a community-lead elementary school that used the seven values of Kwanzaa in their curriculum. Felix showed compassion for people and pets alike. He and his wife, Sharon, fostered and placed more than 70 homeless dogs and adopted three fur babies of their own—George and Gracie, and Diesel. At the time of his passing, Felix was fostering senior dogs Jax and Athena for Monkey’s House, a hospice for homeless dogs, and two kittens, Domino and Rocco, for Burlington County Animal Shelter. Felix is survived by his wife of 15 years, Sharon Anderson; brothers, Felix Jr. (late wife Milagros) and Edwin Torres; sisters, Mary Evelyn Torres and Mercedes Torres-Rohwer; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Eda Negron and Ana Rosa Torres, and a brother, Juan Ramon Torres. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the visitations on Sunday, February 9, from 6 PM to 8 PM at Perinchief Chapels (438 High St., Mt. Holly) and on Monday, February 10, from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at Corpus Christi Catholic Church (11 S. Sunset Rd., Willingboro). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 AM, following the visitation at the church. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 7, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Felix’s memory to the New Kensington Community Development Corp. ( www.nkcdc.org ) and Monkey’s House hospice for dogs ( www.monkeyshouse.org ).

Felix M. Torres-Colon

March 31, 1957 - February 5, 2020