Peter Stanford, 89, Of Croton, Founder Of South Seaport Museum In NYC

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Peter Stanford, the founder of the South Seaport Museum and a longtime advocate of preserving New York City's maritime history, died Thursday, March 24, of a stroke in Croton-On-Hudson, according to The New York Times. He was 89.

Jim Barg

03/29/2016 2:30 p.m.

Stanford was born Jan. 16, 1927, in Brooklyn to Alfred and Dorothy (nee Taylor) Stanford, the Times said.

His interest in boats became a full-time job when he and his wife Norma, quit their jobs in 1966 to create the South Seaport Museum, leading to displays of the city's maritime history during the Bicentennial in 1976 and the Statue of Liberty's centennial in 1986, according to The New York Times.

Stanford was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his second wife, Norma; five children, Thomas, Anthony, Carol, Robert and Joseph; five grandchildren; and his ex-wife, Eve Franceschi, the Times noted.

Read the New York Times obituary here.

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