Benjamin Klaus Raphael of Newark, DE died on March 15, 2025 at the age of 95.  He was the last surviving son of the late Felix and Else Raphael of Essen, Germany, who fled the Holocaust and emigrated to America in November 1938 eventually settling in Wilmington. A graduate of Wilmington High School, Ben was also an Eagle Scout and a member of the National Honor Society. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1951 with a B.S. degree in chemistry and a US Army Reserve commission.  He served his country as a platoon leader and assistant battalion supply officer in Korea during the Korean war and retired from the US Army Reserves in 1979 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He married the late Helen Leeser of Chihuahua, Mexico in 1952.

A lifetime lover of classical music and an amateur pianist, he with his former wife, owned and operated the Delaware Music House on Main Street in Newark until 1979.  They were the parents of Linda, Michael and Richard (Rik).  A National Merit Scholarship winner, Michael died in 1979 in a motorcycle accident.  In 1982, after being divorced, Ben founded Baby Tel Communications, Inc., a telecommunications and commercial sound business, serving many customers in the tri-state area.  In 1988 he met and married the former Catherine Page Middleton, who helped him in the final years of his business until his retirement in 2005.

In addition to his son Michael, he was predeceased by his parents, three older brothers, Dr. Ernst Raphael, of Northport, NY, Erich of Wilmington, Fritz (deceased in infancy) of Essen, and a niece, Eunice Raphael Weber.

During his middle age, Ben was a fairly active athlete – riding his bicycle on long trips, cruising the Chesapeake in his small sailboat, learning to ski after age 50, and was a very enthusiastic member of the Kirkwood Fitness Club and the YMCA.  He set several Delaware Senior Olympics state records in bench pressing.  He loved the family cocker spaniels, and could often be seen with "Nicky", his black & white male cocker companion.  He and Cathy were invited back to his hometown of Essen, Germany in 2002 as a gesture of apology for the persecution and murder of Essen's Jews during the Hitler era, and Ben spoke to a German high school class about his childhood during the pre-Holocaust years.  Upon his return, he gave several talks at nearby churches which were attended by a large audience.  Since 2007, he has been a German language and music history instructor at UD Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Wilmington. In April of 2013 he was the soloist with the Lifelong Learning Orchestra, playing a Beethoven piano concerto movement.  A year later, he became the Institute's Council Chair and, two weeks later, played two Mendelssohn concerto movements with the orchestra.  He was a member of the Korean War Veterans Association, serving as the Delaware State Commander in 2012.

Surviving are his beloved wife of 36 years, Cathy, his son Richard "Rik" of Wilmington, his three stepchildren: Tobyanne Middleton Ventura of Anchorage, AK; Tracy Middleton Shakespeare (Cdr. John A., USN) of Hampstead, NC; and Frederick "Skip" Middleton III (Christa) of Clyde, NC; 7 grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Brianne Raphael, Christopher Ventura, Carisa Watts, Cdr. Nathan Shakespeare, USCG  (Ursula), Rebecca Shakespeare, Franklin Shakespeare (Lily), and Conor Middleton; three nephews: Ronald P. Raphael (Beverly) of Washington, DC, Earl Raphael (Janice) of Mobile, AL, Edgar Raphael of Boca Raton, FL and a niece Evelyn Feltoon (David ) of Austin, TX, three great granddaughters, two great nephews, 2 great nieces, six great great nephews, and especially his wife's beloved godchild, Hannah Fry Henn (Dr. Curtis) and her 2 children, Clara and Frederick.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, March 30 from 11 – 12 pm at the Galena Funeral home of Stephen L. Schaech, 118 W. Cross St. Galena, MD where a memorial service with military honors will begin at 12 pm.  All are invited to the Fish Whistle at the Granary in Georgetown for refreshments.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Newark Symphony Orchestra www.newarksymphony.org