Douglas Grant Colton, PhD passed away unexpectedly at his home in Cheshire, CT on October 10, 2026, at the age of 82. He was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. 

Doug was born on April 10, 1944, in Council Bluffs, IA. He was the third of five children. As a young boy, his siblings remember him being curious, quiet, and very smart. He was an avid reader and found school to be easy. In his free time, he enjoyed collecting and trading baseball cards with friends, riding his bike, and doing science projects. 

Doug graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (Council Bluffs) in 1962. He was a straight A student and class salutatorian. In addition to classes, he was the president of the National Honor Society, editor-in-chief of the school newspaper Signal, and president of the Science and Math clubs. During the summer of 1961, Doug spent five weeks at the National High School Institute at Northwestern University for which he received a Gold Key award. Doug was selected to attend the 1961 National Youth conference on the Atom in Chicago. 

During his senior year, Doug received a National Merit Scholarship and chose to attend Michigan State University. He initially planned to major in Electrical Engineering but ultimately decided to double major in Chemistry and Physics which he completed in three years. Doug went on to obtain an MS degree in Biophysics from the University of Chicago in 1967. 

Doug joined the Peace Corps in 1967. He met the love of his life Felita (Salcedo) at Stanford University where she was teaching a Filipino language class. After Stanford, they both traveled to Luzon Island in the Philippines and worked at San Pablo colleges in Laguna province. Doug taught chemistry for one year. Doug and Felita were married on October 21, 1967, in Quezon City, Luzon, Philippines. 

The newlyweds returned to the United States in early 1968 and settled down in Omaha, NE (across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs, IA - Doug's birthplace). Doug worked for a year as a laboratory technician at Clarkson Hospital in Omaha then went on to receive a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1973. 

Doug, Felita, and their two young children Christine (born in 1968) and Alexander (born in 1970) moved to Stillwater, OK where he worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Biochemistry at Oklahoma State University from 1973-1976. Doug became an avid runner while living in Oklahoma, initially running in 5K and 10K races and training his way up to a half marathon.

In 1976, the family moved to the northern suburbs of Chicago (Northbrook and Wheeling) after Doug accepted a position as Research Investigator in Gastrointestinal Pharmacology at Searle pharmaceutical company in Skokie, IL (now owned by Pfizer). In his spare time, Doug continued his passion for running. He ran the 1977 Chicago Marathon and traveled east to participate in the 1978 Boston Marathon (which he completed in 2 hrs. and 54 min). 

In 1980, the family moved to upstate New York (Manlius) after Doug accepted a position as a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Pharmacology at Bristol Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company in Syracuse, NY. Doug and Felita’s younger daughter Carolyn was born in 1981. 

Unfortunately, the trajectory of Doug’s life changed irrevocably in early 1982 after sustaining an injury to his right foot and ankle while cross country skiing with his older children. The negative impact of this injury progressed over the next several years. The skiing accident abruptly ended Doug’s running days. 

In 1985, the family moved to Brookfield, WI after Doug accepted a dual position as a Research Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Pharmacology & Toxicology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Due to his skiing injury, Doug developed constant pain and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy in his right foot. Ultimately, the chronic pain ended Doug’s promising career in 1988 when he was forced to go on long term disability at the age of 44. Doug subsequently underwent a below knee amputation in 1992. 

To keep his mind active, Doug became a passionate collector and dealer of stamps & coins while living in Wisconsin. He loved watching all kinds of sports: golf, tennis, and baseball as well as basketball and football (college & professional). Doug remained an avid reader throughout his life: fiction novels, current events magazines, and scientific journals. He enjoyed working on jigsaw puzzles. He was addicted to news and watched CNN constantly. In his later years, he discovered Apple News which was the first thing he started reading on his iPad every day, usually while watching CNBC for stock tips. He also used his iPad to play chess online and manage his small stock portfolio. 

Doug and Felita lived in Brookfield, WI for 40 years. However, Doug was struggling to take care of his wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in early 2023. They moved to Cheshire, CT on April 1, 2025, to be closer to their oldest daughter Christine and her family. Unfortunately, in early spring 2026, Doug fell and broke his left humerus. His injury required surgery and several months of physical & occupational therapy. He fully recovered from his surgery by late July. 

Doug joined the Cheshire Senior Center in August 2026. He participated in the chess club and made new friends- one of whom was his chess and intellectual equal. He looked forward to playing chess and discussing history & politics. Doug had learned to play chess in the early 1970s during which time he competed in several tournaments, ultimately achieving a USCF rating of ~1800. 

During the last several months of his life, Doug really enjoyed watching the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, NBA playo s, and the FIFA World Cup Soccer matches. Sadly, he didn’t live long enough to see the Milwaukee Brewers advance to the World Series for the first time since 1982. He would have been over the moon. 

Doug is survived by his wife Felita Colton; his children Christine Colton (husband Sanjay Kulkarni), Alexander Colton, and Carolyn Tabor (husband Scott); his grandchildren Nathan Kulkarni, Nina Kulkarni, and Pierce Tabor; and his siblings Everett Colton Jr., Kathleen Mindrup, and Marilyn Reagan. Doug was preceded in death by his parents Everett Colton Sr. and Evelyn Colton (Meadows) and his older sister Frances Wright. 

Doug is deeply missed by his children and grandchildren. He loved them with his heart & soul. May he rest in peace.