Obituary: Margie Petersen, Co-Founder of Car Museum

Margie Petersen, who co-founded the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and earlier this year donated $100-million to the institution, died Friday at age 76 at her home in Beverly Hills after battling breast cancer, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Ms. Petersen and her late husband, Robert E. Petersen, publisher of Motor Trend and Hot Rod magazines, launched the museum in 1994, donating $5-million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History for a facility to house its collection of vintage vehicles. Her nine-figure gift last April included cash, 135 cars, and ownership of the museum building.

The couple also supported numerous area arts and health institutions, including the Music Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Children’s Hospital, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.