By Stephen Faleski and Titus Mohler

Staff writers

“To know her was to love her.”

That was how Toni Brown, who retired as assistant principal of Smithfield Middle School last year, described her friend and coworker Kristin Felts, who died last week in a two-vehicle crash on Walters Highway.

Two Smithfield High School juniors – Adelyn Nixon and Jamyra Ridley – organized a candlelight vigil for Felts in the school parking lot on March 8. Both students had known Felts for around five years, since they were in her seventh-grade physical education class.

Ridley recalls, now fondly with hindsight, how Felts used to get on her case about not wearing proper gym clothes to PE class. Several other of Felts’ current and former students also shared humorous anecdotes, despite the somber occasion.

That too was quintessentially Felts, who, according to Brown, could find something to smile or laugh about in almost any situation.

“You couldn’t be down around her,” Brown said, recalling Felts’ infectious sense of humor.

“She always made us laugh,” Ridley said.

“Her humor was her gift to the world and it is something that I’ll always carry with me,” said Felts’ 21-year-old daughter, Kayla, told the Times. “My favorite memory of her was when she would be the loudest person at all of my soccer games.”

Felts’ husband, Travis, clad in a Virginia Tech baseball cap, said he’d on more than one occasion asked her about trading her 45-minute daily commute to Smithfield for a teaching job closer to the couple’s home in Franklin, but that every time she’d give him the same answer: She loved Smithfield Middle School and wanted to stay.

“She was the “glue” for our family,” Felts told the Times. “In addition to teaching full time at Smithfield Middle School, she made sure my daughters were at all of their sports practices, dance rehearsals, church functions, part-time jobs, and family events.  All of the students at Smithfield Middle School and Franklin High School were her adopted kids. She loved attending their games, plays, band concerts, running the concession stand at all home football games, and ensuring all students at FHS had a winter coat through the Franklin Baptist Church missions ministry, of which she was an active member.”

He wasn’t the only one wearing Virginia Tech’s orange and maroon colors. Kristin Felts’ students recalled that despite completing her undergraduate degree at Longwood University, she’d been a lifelong Virginia Tech Hokies fan. She’d taught at SMS for 27 years, ever since she graduated from college.

“In December 2012, my mom spent weeks planning the perfect surprise for me and my sisters to have a weekend of fun at Great Wolf Lodge, one of our favorite places,” said Felts’ 17-year-old daughter, Abby, a junior at Franklin High School. “I remember the joy she had when she saw our reactions to the news. I remember the times that she’d just simply come home from work after making a quick stop by a store to grab something she thought I liked. I remember all the times she’d come to my wrestling meets at the crack of dawn ready to scream me through my matches, even though I couldn’t hear her through my head gear. From Day One, when I told her I was interested in wrestling, I found her asking me, my coaches, other wrestling moms, and teammates how wrestling worked or asking what was that move she just saw to better understand the sport so she was ready to support me the best way she could. And she did! That’s the kind of person she was: a creative, smart, beautiful, great mom who was full of love for her family and friends.”

“When we were younger, we always wanted a dog; however, our parents said it’s too much of a responsibility,” said Felts’ daughter, Brooke, also 17 and a junior at FHS. “But we didn’t give up and eventually, they gave in, and we brought in Sophie Dot, our 8-year-old beagle. We all love Sophie, especially my mom. My mom quickly became inseparable from Sophie. When you saw my mom, you saw Sophie. More recently, in 2023, Abby and I got our mom to get us our own cats to cuddle when we felt sad or anxious. If you told me that we would have our own cats 10 years ago, I’d say you’re crazy! My mom was not a cat person, but sure enough, she loved our cats the first day we took them home. My mother always wanted us to be happy, even if that meant she’d have to be covered in dog/cat hair. She loved my sisters and I and her three fur babies.”

Thunderstorms and wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were blowing through Isle of Wight County at the time of the crash. Virginia State Police say the collision appears to have been weather-related.

Police say Felts, 50, was traveling south on Walters Highway toward Franklin, south of Bows and Arrows Road, when she swerved into the northbound lanes and into the path of a Chevrolet Camaro, striking it head-on. Police responded to the scene at approximately 3:20 p.m. on March 5.

The driver of the Camaro, a 28-year-old man whom police have not identified, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Felts was taken to Suffolk’s Sentara Obici Hospital, where she died.

The investigation is ongoing. Police say weather and speed were contributing factors.

Isle of Wight County Schools issued the following statement after receiving notice of her death:

“It is with deep sorrow that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Mrs. Felts, a beloved physical education teacher at Smithfield Middle School,” IWCS said on its Facebook page on March 6. “For 27 years, she dedicated her life to shaping and inspiring thousands of students, leaving a lasting impact on our school community. Her kindness, passion, and unwavering commitment to her students will never be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, children, and all who knew and loved her. In this difficult time, we stand together as a school family, offering support and comfort to one another.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5:09 p.m. on March 10 with additional comments from Felts’ family members.