Local crossword creator passes away at 85

FILE PHOTO Metuchen resident Frances Hansen, who created crossword puzzles for many prominent newspapers, passed away last week.

Frances Hansen, a lifelong borough resident who created crossword puzzles for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and several publishing companies died Friday at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. She was 85.

In January, Hansen told the Sentinel she got hooked on crosswords in the ’50s and eventually constructed one of her own and sent it to The New York Times in 1964. After it was rejected and sent back with a list of rules and mistakes she made, she spent the next eight months learning the craft and sent it back. When it was published, a professional crossword creator was born.

Hansen, who did not attend college, said she liked using verse as one of the tricks of her trade. "Verse gives a puzzle a particular form," she said. "You know, the rhyme scheme is something people are comfortable with, and I like that kind of writing."

Hansen was a charter member of the American Crossword Puzzle Constructors Hall of Fame.

She was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Metuchen, a volunteer for the Metuchen Public Library and a member of the Auxiliary of Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, where her late husband Ernest served as chairman of the Board of Directors for over 20 years.

Hansen is survived by two sons, Warren T. of Forest Hills, N.Y., and John B. of Germantown, Tenn.

Visitation was held Monday at Costello-Runyon Funeral Home in Metuchen and funeral services were held Tuesday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, followed by interment at Hillside Cemetery in Metuchen.