Felton D. Lingo Sr., celebrated South Jersey teacher and coach, and civic leader, has died at 86

Felton D. Lingo Sr., 86, formerly of Bridgeton, N.J., retired health and physical education teacher, Hall of Fame multisport coach at Bridgeton High School, versatile athlete, summer camp director, longtime civic leader, and community activist, died Friday, Feb. 14, of complications from dementia at his son’s home in Hampton, Va.

Mr. Lingo played football and baseball in high school and college, and became a celebrated football, baseball, basketball, softball, cross-country, swimming, and wrestling coach at a dozen organizations over 43 years in Bridgeton. He led the high school boys’ basketball team to a South Jersey group title in 1974, put together baseball and basketball all-star teams in recreation and church leagues, and coached adult softball players, teenage cross-country runners, and peewee footballers to championships.

He was named South Jersey high school boys’ basketball coach of the year in 1974 by local sports groups and inducted into the Bridgeton High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2008. He mentored thousands of students, players, campers, and coaches, and consorted with coaching legends such as Vivian Stringer, John Chaney, and Sonny Hill.

“My expectations are always extremely high,” he told the Bridgeton Evening News in 1978. “I think it’s because I work so hard.” In 2021, Bridgeton High School unveiled its renamed Coach Felton Lingo Sr. Gymnasium and noted his “unselfish dedication to education, students, community, family, diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

He coached, taught, and was an assistant principal in South Jersey elementary schools from 1962 to 1970, then moved to the high school until his retirement in 2005. “He’s been instrumental in a lot of lives of student-athletes,” longtime colleague Charlie Kates told Front Runner New Jersey in 2021.

Off the courts and fields, Mr. Lingo was onetime chair and longtime member of the New Jersey Commission on Civil Rights and active in leadership with the New Jersey Education Association, Cumberland County Council of Educational Associations, NAACP, YMCA, and other groups. He served on the Bridgeton Recreation Commission in the 1960s and directed summer student-led restorations of a historic cemetery in the 1980s.

“During the summertime, he would work for different organizations to make sure the kids had jobs.”

“He loved community organizations,” said his nephew Keith Dickens.

He was inspired to civic service by his parents, he said, and he told NJ.com at his 2008 Hall of Fame induction: “This is such an honor that I can hear my mother, years ago, telling me that I should slow down some, give service to the community, but also to the church. Sometimes when I think of the things she said, I just lose control.”

He supported historically Black colleges and universities, and was a leader at St. Augustine A.M.E. Zion Church, Life in Christ Ministries, and Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was inducted into the Cumberland County Black Hall of Fame in 1988 and earned achievement awards from the Bridgeton Area Brothers United, National Business League, Association of Black Educators, and others.

His brother Anthony praised his “unwavering commitment to the principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift” in a Facebook tribute, and said: “He dedicated his life to uplifting others.”

“I try to demand what coaches demand at college because I want [players] to realize their full potential.”

Felton Denson Lingo was born Nov. 5, 1938, in Macon, Ga. The oldest of six children, he and his family moved to Bridgeton in 1948, and he graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1957.

He was junior class president, editor of the yearbook, quarterback on the football team, and student coach at what is now Delaware State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and phys ed in 1962, worked at first as a substitute teacher in South Jersey, and added graduate work later at other colleges.

He married Marita Matthews in 1959, and they had sons Felton Jr., Derrick, and Dwayne and a daughter, Dedrea. After a divorce, he married Patricia Gibson. After her death, he married Jeanette Wright. His wife, daughter, and sons Felton Jr. and Dwayne died earlier.

Mr. Lingo enjoyed fishing, basketball on TV, and family reunions. “He was all about having family together,” said his son Derrick.

His favorite colors, his family said, were Bridgeton’s maroon and white. “He was stern, firm, and meant what he said,” his son said. “Community for him was about giving back. It was God, family, and community. He had to stay involved.”

His family said in a tribute: “His legacy of leadership and love will forever resonate.”

In addition to his son, nephew, and brother, Mr. Lingo is survived by nine grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, two sisters, and other relatives. Two sisters died earlier.

Celebrations of his life were held Feb. 28 and March 1.

Donations in his name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090.