RIP – Hectence/Zamorca
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I am sorry to announce that Wendy Law, who set as Hectence for The Guardian Quiptic and Zamorca for the FT, died last Thursday, 4th June.
She was at home, comfortable and peaceful, and with both her daughters at her side.
Update from FT:
Wendy Law, who set more than 200 puzzles for the FT as Zamorca, died earlier this month.Zamorca is a Bosnian word for guinea pigs – she was mad about them. She first published for the Guardian as Hectence in 1999 and began life as Zamorca in 2019. Wendy also set for her village magazine. She worked mainly in libraries and oversaw five village libraries.Wendy specialised in pangrams, and said: “I like to think my clues are always fair and hope they are enjoyable to do.”We will miss her greatly. I will publish a 2023 Zamorca puzzle in the FT next Saturday.Her funeral is on Wednesday June 24 at 12.15pm at –The West ChapelCambridge CrematoriumHuntingdon RoadCambridge CB3 0JJNo dress code, no flowers. Donations to:Maggie’sThe Trussell TrustArthur Rank HospiceThe service will be available as a webcast on –
I used to enjoy her quiptics a lot and learned much from them. Warmest condolences to her family
Very sad to hear that – my thoughts are with Wendy’s friends and family.
Hectence was the undisputed Queen of the Quiptic. She was the only setter to have provided puzzles for the series every year since its inception in 1999, and the only setter to top 200 – her grand total is 215. Only 4 others to date have even provided 100, and none of them reached 150.
Really sorry to hear that – met her once and she was lovely. She will be sadly missed. Thoughts are with the family.
RIP Wendy – a very lovely person. My condolences to her family.
What sad news. I always smiled when I saw her name by a crossword.
She’ll be much missed.
My condolences to her family.
Sorry to hear that news. We always liked to see her name on an FT puzzle and knew to look for a pangram. Our thoughts are with her family.
I’m very sorry to hear that news. Having blogged every other Quiptic for the past fifteen years, our paths crossed often on Fifteensquared and it was always a pleasure to solve and annotate her puzzles. I met her at one of the York get-togethers and she was charming company – very modest. I remember guinea pigs were her other pastime.
My condolences to her family.
This is awful news. I met her once, presumably at the same event Beeryhiker and Pierre did, and they describe her exactly as I was going to.
Condolences to her family.
How sad. I always enjoyed her puzzles. Condolences to the family.
This is very sad and shocking news indeed.
My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
I had a very long talk with her at a meeting of FT and Guardian setters in Manchester in 2019. A very nice person.
Sad to hear RIP
Very sad, RIP Wendy. I enjoyed her stuff very much.
Her Meet the Setter interview, with Alan Connor (still available to Googlers), reveals that Zamorca is Bosnian for ‘guinea pig’.
RIP Wendy; what very sad news.
I met Wendy only once, in London at Colin Inman’s FT-retirement bash a few years back, and she was utterly charming company; positive, witty, bubbly and engaging, yet modest to a tee. My condolences to her family and friends.
Really sorry to hear this – as another of the Quiptic bloggers, I suspected I had blogged a few of her puzles, and checked to find I blogged her last Quiptic in February, and those in March, April, June and July in 2025.
Thanks to her for all the enjoyment she’s given us all. Best wishes to her family. MSRIG&RIP. (Sorry, wrong board – may she rise in glory and rest in peace).
Sorry to hear this. I started trying FT crosswords a couple of years ago and always looked forward to the Zamora puzzles.
That’s very sad news. I am slowly working my way backwards through the Quiptic archive, and her puzzles are amongst my favourites.
Sorry to hear this. Met her once, at York, I think. Very pleasant lady.
Condolences to the family.
Very sad news. I always enjoyed her pangrams. Condolences to her family.
Very sad to hear this. Condolences to her family and friends.
So sorry to read this. I met Wendy at Araucaria’s 90th birthday do at the Guardian offices some fifteen years ago. A great lady and a setter of elegant crosswords. RIP Wendy.
RIP
As someone who toys with writing cryptics, constructing a puzzle with ‘easier’ clues is surprisingly hard to do – Wendy managed it with aplomb.
This is very sad news. Hectence’s Quiptics helped me learn to solve crosswords. RIP
Crumbs. I cut my teeth just a couple of years ago on her Quipics which soon taught me to look for something special – in her case, a pangram I believe.
I had no idea that she had been setting for so long.
Think you, Wendy, for your invariably delightful puzzles. May you RIP.
I always enjoyed opening up a Quiptic to see Hectence’s name; I knew I’d be in for a fun puzzle. Very sorry to hear this. My condolences to her loved ones.
RIP Hectance enjoyed your puzzle, my regards to her family.
Very sad news, I will keep many fond memories of her Quiptics. My condolences to the family, and RIP.
It was always a delight to see her name on a Quiptic and she will be greatly missed. RIP Hectence.
Sad news. When I saw her name on a crossword I always smiled in advance.
I’ve always enjoyed a Zamorca puzzle. RIP
Very sorry to hear that news, RIP. She provided many years of entertainment to many people.
Very sad news . RIP . A Zamorca puzzle was always a treat .
Very sad news indeed. Condolences to her family & those who knew her.
RIP Hectence.
Condolences to her family and friends.
I will miss doing her puzzles.
If you wish to watch the webcast mentioned above, then you will need the Login PIN: 426-0051
I never quite understood the self-imposed pangram. However, it was never forced, which is an achievement in itself, and the puzzles were usually created with well-constructed clues and (importantly) excellent surfaces. I respected her crosswords, and, more importantly, it is clear that people who knew Wendy respected and loved the person.
Commiserations to Wendy’s family, and to the wider crossword community.
Derek @34, thank you for the link, sorry I couldn’t be present. Beautiful service.
Best wishes to you and all the family.
John
I only found out belatedly that Wendy Law (aka Zamorca) passed away earlier this month.
I’m really very sad to hear this.
I enjoyed her puzzles from the very beginning of my solving career and really liked seeing them more recently in the weekend slot. Knowing there would be a pangram always added a certain je ne sais quoi and yet their presence rarely felt forced, as Martyn mentions. And then, there are so few women setters. She will be greatly missed on this site for her breezy entertainment. I have usually only done her puzzles under the Bosnian guinea pig moniker so I will seek out Hectence and her quiptics in the archives.
RIP Wendy.
Condolences to her family.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/2026/jul/19/wendy-law-obituary