Philadelphia philanthropist Ruth Perelman dies at 90

The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Vladsinger, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ruth Perelman, who along with her philanthropist husband was a major donor to institutions in the city of Philadelphia, has died. She was 90.

Perelman died Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Her husband, Raymond Perelman, told The Associated Press that the couple had been married for 70 years after they met in Greensboro, N.C., where she was going to college and he was running a plant for his father.

In May, the University of Pennsylvania announced that the School of Medicine would be named after the couple following their donation of $225 million. The Ivy League university described the gift as the largest in its history.

The Perelmans have also given millions to other Philadelphia institutions such as the Kimmel Center and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

#   #   #

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.