Citizen editor Walton dies at 81

Cigarette in hand, necktie askew, the back of his dress shirt rumpled and untucked, downing one cup of coffee after another while poring over copy, presiding at story meetings and, on rare occasion, enthusiastically growling: "Stop the presses!"

"Dale was devoted to getting the news, getting it first and, most importantly, getting it right," said Gabrielle Fimbres, who was an intern when she began working for Walton at the Tucson Citizen in 1985.

Walton, who retired in 1993 from his post as the Citizen's managing editor, will be the focus of stories Saturday - many nostalgic, some perhaps unprintable - at a memorial service.

Walton died unexpectedly March 27 at University of Arizona Medical Center after cancer surgery. He was 81.

"He was like the managing editor from central casting," said Mark Kimble, who was just months out of college in 1974 when he began working for Walton. "He reminded me a lot of 'Lou Grant,' " the gruff newspaper editor played by Ed Asner in a TV show from the late 1970s and early '80s. "He was never without a cigarette and a cup of coffee in his hands.

"He was a wonderful teacher. He was extremely kind. He was very dedicated to getting the news right and he was a very inspiring person. He had extremely high standards and he made sure that everyone knew what his standards were and he expected everyone who worked for him to adhere to the same kinds of standards in fairness, in newsgathering, in everything we did," Kimble said. "He molded me and others into the journalists we became."

Walton was proud of his West Texas roots. The youngest of three sons, he was raised on a farm in the town of Snyder. He also had a curiosity about the world.

"Since he was a child he knew he wanted to be a newspaperman," said one of his children, Nancy Wysner. "He loved reporting. It was only wanting to be able to advance in his career and make more money to support his family that pushed him into the management side of things. It was reporting that really jazzed him up."

Walton served in the Army for 18 months beginning in 1947. Upon discharge, he enrolled in North Texas State College - now the University of North Texas - under the G.I. Bill. He was just a few credits shy of earning his journalism degree when he was recalled by the Reserves to serve a second stint. He worked as an editor at several Texas newspapers before accepting a job as a "special writer" at the Citizen in 1968.

Within three years Walton was promoted twice; he was managing editor for more than 20 years. He retired in 1993.

"He was an old-world, old-style kind of managing editor and in my mind that's the best kind," said Don Hatfield, who joined the Citizen as publisher in 1986. "He was hands-on, for sure. He knew everything that was going in the newspaper. He knew what the reporters were doing in the news department, in the sports department, in the features department."

Walton hired Judy Lefton in 1980 to be a business reporter.

"He wasn't just a boss. He was a teacher and mentor to me and, really, to dozens of other journalists at the Citizen over the years," she said.

A memorial for Walton begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2450 E. Fort Lowell Road.

He is survived by wife Glenda, daughters Lou Kristensen and Nancy Wysner, stepsons Terry Puhala and Michael Puhala and his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Alice.

Did you know?

The Tucson Citizen was the Old Pueblo's longest running newspaper when it was shuttered by the Gannett Co. three years ago in a move to cut costs. Its first edition was printed Oct. 15, 1870. Its last: May 16, 2009.

Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.