Crossword solver, author, dies at 96
Posted on Wednesday, October 25, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/170710/
JONESBORO — Dorothy Bates, 96, of Pocahontas, who wrote books for crosswordpuzzle enthusiasts 50 years ago, under a male pseudonym, died Monday night in a Jonesboro hospital.
Her death at 10: 33 p. m. was attributed to heart failure arising from complications with a malignant tumor that physicians found in her stomach last week, according to Emerson Funeral Home of Jonesboro.
Bates wrote numerous books for puzzlers in the 1950 s under the name “Lee Keith.” She compiled two- to eight-letter word lists from the Merriam-Webster 2 nd International Dictionary along with puzzle-solving tips.
Will Shortz, crossword editor of The New York Times, used Bates’ books in constructing puzzles and has said her work should be considered “artifacts” of the puzzle world.
“They are part of history,” Shortz said in an interview for an article about Bates that was printed in the Sept. 17 edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Bates, whose maiden name was Dorothy Lee Keith, said she preferred her readers to think the puzzle books were written by a man, believing male authors carried more credibility, even when it came to games and riddles.
“They wouldn’t have had any faith in a woman making word lists and solving puzzles in those days,” Bates said during an interview last month.
She sold puzzle guides out of her residence for the better part of five decades. Family members said Bates was still getting letters asking about her works.
Bates was honored Sept. 23 in Pocahontas during the Randolph County town’s sesquicentennial celebration. She received a certificate that day from Shortz, and Vic Fleming, a Little Rock traffic judge and puzzle creator, showed Wordplay, the documentary about Shortz and his puzzle-making world. Fleming also presented Bates with a crossword he created in her honor that had clues about her life scattered throughout.
Family members on Tuesday said Bates had instilled an appreciation of the arts in them.
“She spent most of her time making sure I had all the opportunities I could get in regards to music, books and arts,” said her nephew, Gary Gazaway, 53, who became a professional trumpet player and has performed internationally with rockers Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the rock group Phish.
“I credit my total career to her,” he said. “She bought my first trumpet.”
Ann Carroll, a cousin of Bates, credited Bates for her career, too. Carroll was the longtime owner of the Pocahontas Star-Herald, a weekly newspaper. She still writes a column for the paper.
Carroll, 84, recalled taking typing lessons from Bates many years ago.
“She had 15 typewriters in her living room,” Carroll said. “She taught me how to type. She was dedicated, industrious and hard working.”
Bates was married to Bill Bates on Oct. 31, 1931, and lived in Pocahontas all her life. Bill Bates died in 1999.