Wednesday, December 24, 2008 , Updated
Former Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Waltrina Stovall died on Tuesday
DALLAS — Waltrina Stovall, former restaurant critic for the Dallas Morning News and a well known collector of vintage memorabilia, died on Tuesday at Baylor Medical Center; she was 71. She had been in intensive care for more than a week after experiencing difficulty breathing.
Born on June 13, 1937, Stovall was a well-respected dining critic at the News for more than 10 years. But she also wrote a column for the Features section on collectors, which traded on her hobby of collecting vintage items. She had a massive collection of memorabilia, with a special focus on food -- glassware, pottery, aluminum trays, and a collection of more than 3,000 cookbooks -- and smoking, including ashtrays, lighters, and unique holders; she was a lifelong smoker.
She continued to write for the News right up until her death, including this recent feature on pecan pie -- one that shows her trademark ability to enrich a story with careful reporting and unexpected details. She was a diligent and disciplined writer who rarely made errors and observed a strict ethical standard; as a critic, she kept a low profile and was rarely photographed.
Early in her career, long before Gloria Steinem did it, Waltrina wrote a series of stories for the Houston Post called, "I Was a Playboy Bunny," documenting her experience working at a Playboy club in Kansas City, where she was trained by Hugh Hefner's brother. She also worked for Con Edison in New York as editor of their employee magazine.
She's survived by her daughter Twila Stovall, of Dallas; a sister Elayne, of Oklahoma; and two brothers, John, of Oklahoma, and Sherryl, of California. No services have yet been planned.
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Russ Vandeveerdonk, says:
Sad to hear this news and AGAIN Peg News has broken this story, it is not even in the DMNews at all, as of 2:00am on the day after!? She worked there and gave reviews with class all those years. Thanks PN for the info!
Verified
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
RoknCajn, says:
Aww, man. Bummer. As crotchety, eccentric and exacting as Trina could be, I ended up liking her. She was awfully good and principled - and was as far away from the prototypical restaurant critic/foodie extraordinaire as one could get both visually and socially. That's part of what made her so effective.
She gave me her copy of 'Food Lover's Companion' (a definitive foodie reference) when she left TDMN back in '02; It's sitting on my living room bookshelf now. I might have to page through that a bit this weekend as a li'l tip-of-the-hat memorial gesture. - Mike D.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
frankstongal, says:
Oh, Teresa this makes me so sad. I had no idea her condition was this severe. I'm glad you got to see her. It's a sad day. NN
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Russ Vandeveerdonk, says:
Still no news, nor info/comment from DMNews about her passing, as of 9:00am?
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11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott, says:
Very sorry to hear this.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Rawlins Gilliland, says:
Thank you Teresa and Pegasus for this class act entry. It is always sad when someone who is a respected and admired professional passes. It is also very appreciated when respected multi-media pros like yourself pay their respects. To everyone who has lost someone this year, my best wishes for your new year. And to those who are gone, thanks for the memories.
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11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley, says:
Russ, they put a post on <a href="http://eatsblog.guidelive.com/">their Eats blog</a> just after 9:00 a.m., complete with the admission that they got scooped by Teresa.
Staff
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Chris Kidd, says:
I read her last piece on pecan pie, it was a real interesting take on one of the most common deserts around this time of year..
I also applaud Teresa and Pegasus for stepping up and reporting this, as it appears the DMN was too busy putting up an AP wire story about "Body Soultions" and its founder getting prison time..
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11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Billusa99, says:
Very sorry to hear of this, TG.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, says:
waltrina was a mentor who i admired very much and a friend whose wit and loyalty i treasured
with the holidays here, i'm sure the <em>DMN</em> is short-staffed. i know they are working on an obituary today and suspect they will be able to add lots of details about her complex and colorful life that i was not able to get.
if anyone has anecdotes, feel free to post them!
Staff
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
alexander troup, says:
Sorry to see the loss of your freind.T.G...A/T.....A time realize and time to heal.
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11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
PatSharpe, says:
This touches me. Waltrina was lucky have such a kind friend and colleague to write a timely memorial. Nicely done, TG. Pat Sharpe, Food Editor, Texas Monthly
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Dr_Freud, says:
Great memorial, TG. I am sorry to hear of Waltrina's passing. It is a loss for all of us, and especially for her family.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alegria, says:
I had not seen Waltrina in some years, but she e-mailed a kind, encouraging message to me just two months ago, and I will always remember her thoughtfulness in reaching out to me at a difficult time. I always liked her stories on collecting vintage items, compiled from longtime experience in amassing her own vast array of collectibles. My condolences to Trina's daughter and the rest of her family.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
devontx, says:
I remember when we opened Flip's Wine Bar & Trattoria on lower Greenville. We were "quaking in our boots" for Waltrina's review in the Friday Guide shortly after opening. She did us proud and we thank her for helping put Flip's on the map. She set the standards high and will be remember by many in the hospitality industry.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
eatmyfish2000, says:
I have had the privilege of knowing "Trina" as she so told me to call her for 20 years. When I opened Scott's Seafood Restaurant in 1988,I remember the Thursday that I received the news about the review. Waltina said "I have good news and bad news... The good news is that you should be very busy tomorrow [Friday] The bad news is that the review from The Dallas Times Herald, which was also stellar is to come out the same day." And continued... "be prepared, you are going to be busy." My respect for Ms. Stovall, as a food critic, comes from the knowledge that her reviews were meant to educate and improve restaurants in Dallas; her comments were to assist, and make corrections where necessary. Teresa, I will also miss her, as a Dallas intitution, but most importantly, as a dear friend. Remember, a lady always knows when it's time to leave.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
mprecker, says:
So sad to hear this. Waltrina was a great colleague and a great dining companion, smoke and all. I've never stopped quoting her terrific, droll summation of the cuisine at Hooters when the chain first got going: "The food here is better than it has to be." We'll miss you a lot. Mike Precker
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, says:
Jane Sumner, former film critic at the <em>DMN</em> and one of Waltrina's closer friends over the years, shared the following:
"I last saw Trina in September 2007 when she and [former <em>DMN</em> writer] Harry Bowman met me at Love Field for one of my periodic visits. She seemed frail as an old rose pressed at the back of a book. I thought at the time she seemed to be getting smaller and smaller but it is still a shock. Trina was always wonderful to me and kind. I was, as you know, the 'vegetarian friend' in her dining reviews. Some time ago she sent me an email enumerating what she saw as all my excellent qualities but ended by noting that I was always late. That was Trina. A straight-shooter - smart as hell, loyal, warm, hard-working, caring and earnest with an impish, delicious sense of humor. If there's one word to describe her, it has to be BRAVE. I feel lucky to have known her." -- Jane Sumner
Staff
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
stevew52, says:
I'm sad to hear of Waltrina's passing. I'm even sadder that I never met her in person. Reading her reviews, though, was a close second.
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
mikegarden55, says:
What a loss -- she was all of the above, but her crisp sense of humor may have been her greatest gift. When she'd walk up waving a story I'd just written, I always feared I'd missed the mark in her estimation, but she always left me laughing. - Mike Peters
Anonymous
11 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kevin Kunreuther, says:
A great writer who could make the reader care as much as she did about her subject - especially if the subject was food. One of my favorite writers from the DMN.
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