Longtime Food Critic Dies at 71

By: Waltrina Stovall, a longtime Dallas food critic, has died. She was 71.

Stovall died Tuesday at Baylor University Medical Center, The Dallas Morning News reported in its online edition Wednesday.

She worked at newspapers in Wichita Falls, Texas City, Houston and New York, joining The News in 1979. Despite retiring in 1998, Stovall continued working as a freelance writer until recently. Stovall also served as a puzzle checker for the newspaper and wrote about collectibles.

Former colleague and friend Teresa Gubbins said Stovall kept a house "full of weird old junk" and "had stacks of odd things."

"She was different in a city where so many people want to be normal and aspire to conventional values," Gubbins said. "Waltrina was someone that didn't do that, and we need people like that in Dallas."

Stovall would not drive on the highway, instead taking city streets, recalled The News food editor Cathy Barber.

"Driving to a review with her was always an adventure," Barber said.

Colleagues say Stovall kept a lean figure despite dining on fine cuisine for a living, enjoyed a cigarette and looked forward to adventurous meals.

Earlier in her career, she wrote a story about working as a Playboy bunny.

"She got a great kick out of that," former colleague Bob Compton told the paper.

Stovall is survived by a daughter, Twyla.