Manny Nosowsky, a New York Times crossword puzzle creator who delighted solvers with his witty, pun-filled puzzles for nearly two decades, died on May 20 in San Francisco. He was 91.

Dr. Nosowsky had been practicing urology for about 20 years when he faced a sudden bout of health issues. In 1983, at age 51, he gave up medicine and retired. To fill time, he joined his wife in solving crossword puzzles, and he decided to try constructing them.

His first puzzle for The New York Times ran in 1992. Eugene T. Maleska published eight of Dr. Nosowsky’s puzzles, and Will Shortz, the current editor, chose 246 of them, which The Times has called “bundles of pun” for their wit and humor. [e.g.’s: Breakfaster’s favorite drama: omeletprinceofdenmark; Classic saucy love song: Aiolihaveeyesforyou].