Former DMN Food Critic Waltrina Stovall Dies

She was highly regarded for her nuanced writing and rare ability to chain smoke through a meal and still understand the flavors. She was 71 and had been hospitalized for about a week.Teresa Gubbins at Pegasus News says it all. Expect a lengthy obituary in tomorrow's Dallas Morning News.I knew...

By Dave Faries

December 24, 2008

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She was highly regarded for her nuanced writing and rare ability to chain smoke through a meal and still understand the flavors. She was 71 and had been hospitalized for about a week.

Teresa Gubbins at Pegasus News says it all. Expect a lengthy obituary in tomorrow's Dallas Morning News.

I knew of her mostly by reputation, having been introduced once--in passing--at an event some years ago. Dotty Griffith, then the DMN food critic, nudged me over to a small group gathered around a stately older woman. Waltrina gave the impression that she was thoroughly, earnestly pleased to meet me and all others she encountered that evening.

Rest in peace, Waltrina Stovall.

--Dave Faries

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