Frederick Anthony Simeone, a former neurosurgeon at the Pennsylvania Hospital, a former faculty member in Penn’s department of neuroscience, and the namesake of Philadelphia’s Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, passed away peacefully on June 11. He was 86.

Dr. Simeone grew up in the Kensington and Allegheny neighborhoods of Philadelphia and attended Thomas Edison High School. After receiving a scholarship, he attended Temple University as an undergraduate. He also earned a medical degree there, then completed residencies at the Mayo Clinic and at Penn. He performed research and neurosurgery as a faculty member at Harvard University Medical School after graduating, then came to Penn. He initially served as an assistant professor of neurosurgery in Penn’s School of Medicine, then was promoted in 1973 to associate professor. He eventually became a full professor. His rise to eminence was paralleled at Pennsylvania Hospital, where he eventually became the chair of neurosurgery, and at Jefferson Medical College, where he became chief of neurosurgery. At Jefferson, Dr. Simeone convinced the Wills Eye Institute to provide facilities for specialized innovative neurosurgical procedures. He researched cerebral vasospasm and published his findings widely. With Richard Rothman, he co-authored The Spine, a seminal textbook on spinal surgery. He joined Penn’s 25-Year Club in 1994 and retired from Penn and the Pennsylvania Hospital in 2008.

In his leisure time, Dr. Simeone was an avid collector of antique racing cars. Beginning with a collection of four that he inherited from his father, he investigated and procured vehicles he considered works of art, expanding to a collection of over 75 vehicles that had been designed for competitions. He established the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Southwest Philadelphia in 2008, donating his collection of racing sports cars and automobile literature for posterity and public display. Bolstered by Dr. Simeone’s philosophy of “restore, not rebuild,” the museum has won awards all over the world, and Dr. Simeone’s book The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles was named publication of the year by the International Historic Motoring Awards (2013). He considered the museum his gift to Philadelphia, a sentiment that many commentators and racecar enthusiasts have echoed.

Dr. Simeone served as a Major in the U.S. Army and was knighted (Cavaliere) by the president of the republic of Italy.

He is survived by his daughter, Christina; son-in-law, Jonathan Burton; and granddaughter, Alessandra Burton. A memorial was held on June 16.