Raphael Hertz Levey ’55

Raphael, a pioneer in pediatric organ transplantation and in international health-care development, died March 23, 2021, at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He was born Dec. 29, 1933, in Brockton, Mass., and attended Andover. At Princeton he joined Cloister Inn and majored in biology. His roommates were Jim Carter, Jim McCarthy, and Kendall Kane.

After Princeton he graduated from Harvard Medical School, where he became a longtime professor. He was a surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he treated thousands of sick children, founded the hospital’s organ-transplant program, and performed its first kidney transplants.

Raphael conducted trailblazing immunology research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and the National Institute for Medical Research in London, where his partnership with Nobel laureate Sir Peter Medawar led to the discovery of a powerful class of immunosuppressive agents. These agents can prevent the body’s rejection of a transplanted organ.

In the early 1990s he moved to Switzerland and pursued a new career in international medicine. He was known for a great sense of humor, wide-ranging travels, and a life well-lived. He loved good food and would think nothing of driving three hours from his home in Zurich to France to visit a Michelin-starred restaurant. 

Raphael is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rosemarie; sons Noam ’93 and Tobias; and four grandchildren.