Through his dedication to the Foundation and his beloved Washington, DC community, Mr. Cafritz was deeply committed to building a more just and beautiful region with access to opportunities for all. The 2019 Philanthropic 50 - Washington Life Magazine Decedent lacked sufficient capacity to, and did not, dispose of her property with judgment and understanding, considering the nature, character and extent of her estate.". Upon Morris Cafritz's death in 1964, he became president of the Cafritz Co.; and in the first will Gwendolyn wrote, in 1969, which included all three sons, she made Calvin an executor and left him the Foxhall Road house. Another longtime beneficiary of Cafritz Foundation support has been The Textile Museum. Washington, DC 20006. Perhaps one day Calvin, or Conrad, or some Cafritz now unknown, will find a way to bring together the opposite forms of ambition that thrived in this house, and give a second start to the dynasty that never was. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. For one thing, he has a dark, avowedly cynical sense of humor. At the least, then, Gwendolyn's will disposes of more than $140 million. Mr. Cafritz' grace, elegance, discernment, desire for excellence, and commitment to making the most of every day and every situation will continue to inspire and motivate all who knew and loved him. For another, he is said to alternate in seconds between a manic intensity and a mumbling diffidence. Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. Then, in 1988, came the announcement that Conrad Cafritz, with Japanese partners, had bought Washington Harbour, the glitzy development below K Street in Georgetown that had been troubled from its opening; the original developer of Washington Harbour was Western. D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died Thursday at Sibley Memorial Hospital. Mr. Cafritz was married previously two times; his first wife was Enid Cafritz and his second wife was Joyce Smith. Perhaps the most remarkable member of this third generation is his daughter Julia, who dropped out of Brown University four years ago with a classmate to found a band named Pussy Galore. "I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. January 27, 2023. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. Mr. Cafritz is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz. Yet he uncomplainingly supported all of Gwendolyn's efforts, and was said to adore his colorful bride. . The Cafritz Foundation is also responsible for developing Art Place at Fort Totten, a huge mixed-use project in the Northeast D.C. area. The suit was filed by the middle and youngest Cafritz sons, Carter, 53, and Conrad, 51. The most famous of these was the Cafritz Building, at 1625 I; ballyhooed in 1950 as the first "park-at-your-desk" building, it had ramps rising 10 stories at the building's core. "I'm sure part of it was to show Herb Miller he was serious.". The complaint further asserts that "when Decedent allegedly executed the purported Will and Codicil that have been offered for probate herein, Decedent lacked a sound and disposing mind and was not capable of executing a valid deed or contract. He was 91 years of. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. Cafritz is survived by Jane, his third wife, who is a lawyer in the area. GECS offers business development, bid proposal writing training, and resume preparation services for individuals seeking employment with the Federal Government, and provides knowledge management services to assist businesses with succession planning. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies at 91. bizjournals.com - Michael Neibauer 20h. CAFRITZ SONS WIN ESTATE CHALLENGE - The Washington Post Named in the lawsuit, besides Calvin, is everyone to whom Gwendolyn Cafritz made a bequest, including her former servants and grandchildren, two nephews and an old escort. If she gave them an order, they took it lightly, because she liked to drink. Beginning with single-family houses, moving on to apartment houses and office buildings, he managed to dodge the Depression and was well positioned to preside over the city's transforming boom during and after World War II (see box, Page 20). He is also survived by his three children, Elliot Cafritz (Lauren), Anthony Cafritz (Pearl), and Elizabeth Peltekian(Viken); five grandchildren, Sam, Alexander, Seb, Aram, and Van; three stepchildren, Olivia Rubenstein, Irina Rubenstein, and James Speyer; and two step-grandchildren Evan and MJSpeyer. Then there is the charitable legacy. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . Calvin Cafritz Rockville, Maryland March 29, 1931 - January 12, 2023 Share Obituary: Tribute Wall Obituary & Events Share a memory Send Flowers Share a memory of Calvin Cafritz. The foundation, among Greater Washingtons largest with more than $400 million in assets and some $65 million in annual revenue and expenses, according to its most recent Form 990, is expected to issue a formal statement in the coming days. It is intriguing to imagine what different directions Conrad Cafritz might urge -- and how much they would draw from the activism of his wife, who has likely pondered what difference the Cafritz endowment might make to her lifelong campaign to wrest the arts from Washington's white upper classes. Money -- to be sure. Because Gwendolyn's estate has not been probated, its value is hard to establish. He was preceded in death by his brother Carter Cafritz. Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. "Very sort of philosophic, sort of honorable." Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. It is hard not to wonder what the effect might have been of hearing Gwendolyn Cafritz's will read for the first time. He was an excellent listener and always got both the big picture and important details by asking insightful questions. Required fields are marked *. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, SAGEL BLOOMFIELD DANZANSKY GOLDBERG FUNERAL CARE INC. The only thing worse might be to watch deals go on without him: Along with becoming chairman of the foundation, Calvin Cafritz has taken the helm of the old Cafritz Co., andis reportedly trying to bring it tonew life. But almost no one noticed what seemed apparent to Gore Vidal, in brief glimpses of her during the '60s: "Toward the end {of the decade}, she was always drunk whenever I saw her. He never tired of committing himself to this mission, which only grew bigger with time. Finally, there is the legacy contained in any will: The power to reward or to punish the living, to define or rearrange the narrative of a family's history. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, grande dame of the Washington arts and education We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. CALVIN CAFRITZ, CARTER CAFRITZ, CONRAD CAFRITZ WILLIAM CAFRITZ AND BUFFY CAFRITZ The Cafritz name has been a Washington fi xture for almost a century, with Morris and Gwen Cafritz's 1937 Foxhall Road mansion an epicenter of D.C. social life. Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. He may sometimes have yearned for recognition: One night, after one of the glamorous dinners, he drew a friend of Gwendolyn's away from the dining room and into the kitchen. Calvin Fritz Obituary (1952 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. And it is over the foundation, established to memorialize the name and works of the Cafritz family, that the Cafritz family is now at war. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. In plain English, Gwendolyn Cafritz's two younger sons are contending in court that their mother was too feebleminded to write her will; document requests filed in court suggest they may try to prove she was incapacitated by alcoholism. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation is already, with its more than $220 million in assets, the largest source of private funds earmarked for the District of Columbia. In 1904, with a $1,400 loan from his father, he started out running a coal yard at Fourth and K streets NW, then a saloon near Fourth and O. Atlas too declined to comment, but he issued a statement when the suit was filed saying that he had no role in drafting the will, and no advance knowledge of its contents. Cafritz Calvin Cafritz Washington developer and one of the region's leading philanthropists, died Thursday morning, January 12, 2023, at Sibley Memorial Hospital, in Washington, DC. By 1967, records show a sprinkling of grants to highbrow cultural causes: the Committee to Rescue Italian Art, the Opera Society of Washington, the Corcoran Gallery. "Jews in general just didn't figure. Several friends read this changeability as part of a larger ambivalence about whether he wants to be an insider or a maverick, heir to a famous tradition or the rebel who subverts it. Michael J. Dowling, who became the Cafritzes' butler in the early '60s, describes a tragically common decline. Old press notices, written in the uncritical fashion of the day, recount her summers in Monte Carlo; her typical day in Washington (beginning with a ride in her limousine -- license number 2301, to match her address -- to the Supreme Court or the Capitol, to take in a decision or an interesting hearing); her winter trips to Palm Beach; her shopping trips in Paris; her ladies lunches at the Mayflower Hotel. Calvin Cafritz Washington developer and one of the region's leading philanthropists, died Thursday morning, January 12, 2023, at Sibley Memorial Hospital, in Washington, DC. This time, the receiving line snaked across the long, low living room to the far wall, where the hostess was displayed in a yellow silk armchair. To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one. Small wonder that, as he approached his forties unmarried, he was one of the most eligible bachelors within the small, closed circle of Washington's Jewish society. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. In particular, he has carried on an epic feud with Herbert S. Miller, chairman of Western Development Corp. Western won a city contract in 1985 to develop the so-called Portals site at the foot of the 14th Street Bridge, potentially the largest commercial development in the city. A document filed in probate court says an initial inventory of her own property exceeded $90 million; however, inventories filed with her will account only for a little more than $80 million. All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. ", Gwendolyn reportedly raised her children according to the dictates of her European background -- under the aegis of servants, to be seen and not heard. He served in these roles until 2022, when Jane Lipton Cafritz, his wife, was elected Board Chair and President and CEO. He was 91 at the time he died. He and his wife, Jane, and the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation have made major contributions to the city of Washington, DC and the region. ", As is often true when the secretive disease of alcoholism is combined with the see-no-evil sociability of Washington, Gwendolyn's problem was rarely recognized. If youre in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist. His most notable contribution was in the streamlined art deco apartment houses designed, either singly or together, by architects Alvin L. Aubinoe and Harry L. Edwards, including the Majestic, the Hightowers, the Empire and the since-demolished Gwenwood on 19th Street NW. ", She gave only two parties in the last 15 years of her life -- one in 1978, her first in five years, and the final party in 1986. Calvin Cafritz Rockville, Maryland March 29, 1931 - January 12, 2023 Share Obituary: Tribute Wall Obituary & Events Share a memory Send Flowers Obituary An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. The holdings also include a major share of the two Universal buildings at Connecticut and Florida avenues NW, and shares of the massive River House apartment buildings in Pentagon City. ", Gwendolyn's estate is worth at least $140 million, including both her personal holdings and a trust passed on from Morris Cafritz's will (see box, Page 32). Its annual reports list a fairly traditional, staid set of beneficiaries, and its grants are studied by an advisory board heavily weighted toward the kind of high-profile, high-society arts philanthropy that Gwendolyn favored: Among the members are National Gallery of Art Director J. Carter Brown, retired Smithsonian secretary S. Dillon Ripley and retired librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin, as well Carolyn Deaver, wife of former White House deputy chief of staff Michael K. Deaver, and a social friend of Gwendolyn's, Mrs. Tazewell Shepard. It charges that Rogers and Atlas "exerted undue influence" on her decision to leave all her money to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and that Gwendolyn herself "lacked testamentary capacity," meaning that she was incapable of writing her will. She could no longer make an entrance, of course. Since 1989, Cafritz led the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable organization named for his parents. I hope they will. "He's part of a legendary family, and he's the only one who seems interested in keeping up the legend," says one friend. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr Calvin Frazier - Wikipedia Giving to charity is a meaningful way to honor someone who has died. In the past two decades Washington has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, building new fortunes, multiplying old ones, constantly attracting new players from other cities. . A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. There are also real estate assets at Arlingtons 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, which is the former home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? She appears every week on the WETA-TV arts show "Around Town." But Carter and Conrad Cafritz are not named in their mother's will. Calvin Cafritz (1931-2023) | The Georgetowner Perhaps as a result, he works hard, with much of Morris's old drive. The strange paradox of her marriage was that Morris's money enabled her to carry out her lavish social dreams, while the family's being Jewish also placed limits on her chances of realizing them. Find Calvin Cafritz obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com Gwendolyn Cafritz died of cancer last November. In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. We hoped to let the public know about these outstanding individuals and to send a message to other excellent government employees that their dedication and considerable accomplishments are valued." Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. He will always be remembered and loved by our team and the thousands of people whose lives he touched for his humility, kindness and willingness to go above and beyond in service of our great city and community.. Morris Cafritz - Wikipedia An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. That's why her final victory rather delighted me. January 16, 2023, 1:16 AM D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died Thursday at Sibley Memorial Hospital. Calvin Cafritz Obituary That task was left to her closest relatives. 91. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz | GW Today | The George Washington University But he believes her drinking was a source of family discord. The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. Nor, apparently, is it for us to judge what her sons now want from a D.C. Superior Court judge: All three declined to beinterviewed. The foundation's board of trustees consisted of Gwendolyn Cafritz and the two men who would become her executors -- Atlas and William P. Rogers, her attorney. ", Today, he still combats a version of that assumption, pithily summed up by one detractor in this way: "You don't have to be Albert Einstein to take money and make additional money in real estate." Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. The Morris and. One possible reason for that -- and for any bitterness that might motivate the lawsuit -- is suggested by the suit's underlying argument: "For many years, beginning at a time not precisely known to plaintiffs, but at least by the time of the death of the late Morris Cafritz, the Decedent began suffering from a number of conditions that resulted in physical and mental debilitation," reads the complaint. 2 SONS CONTEST $84 MILLION CAFRITZ WILL - The Washington Post In the process, he amassed one of the first great fortunes to be carved out of Washington itself. He was 91. "Conrad was persistent as hell in getting that project," says one person familiar with Conrad's business. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. "There were moments when you wanted to go around and have everybody wear not just a name tag, but a bio,"says their good friend Margaret Lenzner. Morris was a famously frugal man who used to tell friends he couldn't afford to rent office space in the best of his buildings, and his major vanity, beyond lying about his age, appears to have been combing his pomaded hair over a bald spot at the back. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies "Decedent's condition deteriorated after the death of her husband in 1964 and grew worse in the following years. They're more like the French salons.". A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. "Lots of times she could drink and she knew exactly what she was doing. Gwendolyn Cafritz, 78, Washington Hostess - The New York Times It is a jolting reminder that Peggy and Conrad, a black woman married to a white Jewish millionaire in a racially divided city, represent a fascinating reshuffling of the social deck that produced the polarized marriage of Morris and Gwendolyn. Carter appears something of a cipher even to old family associates. Washington, DC 20007 The Meyer Foundation is sad to learn of the passing of Calvin Cafritz, a Washington-area developer and one of the region's leading philanthropists. At the same time, he and Tompkins had the foresight to buy the land now known as Pentagon City. Jane Lipton Cafritz was elected in the second half of 2022 to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO. With such a ruling, the trust would pass to the three sons, as outlined in Morris's will. In 2000, under Mr. Cafritz' leadership, the foundation's board established the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Awards for Distinguished DC Government Employees, an annual program designed to recognize and reward outstanding performance and exemplary service by locally based federal employees. To Edward R. Murrow, in a 1956 interview, she said that to speak of Washington cocktail parties was "unfair to Washington. Washington Life Magazine: June 2007:WEALTH LIST Ymelda Dixon, who covered many of her parties for the Evening Star, recalls, "They were great parties, because she had the means and the imagination. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. The outcome of the lawsuit is unpredictable, though clearly it will be an uphill fight: Showing that someone was alcoholic is very different from demonstrating that she was incapable of writing a will. As he stood by her chair, he could name at a glance quite a few of the guests -- Chief Justice and Mrs. Warren Burger . But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. He was 91. In the '50s, Cafritz had an early conviction that the future direction of downtown Washington was along the K Street corridor, and before his death in 1964 he built a dozen buildings in the "new" downtown, mostly on K and I streets NW. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. It has been variously reviewed as "one of the more important bands to emerge from the new head-slamming school of American guitar/noise bands" and "the gnarliest, most scuzzed out molotov to hit the streets since the heady days of Teenage Jesus and The Jerks." January 2023 - Page 189 - obituaries death Cafritzs passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. An old friend remembers a Fourth of July party at which one or more of the boys stood in a window above the path that led indoors from the pool to the cocktail area, throwing firecrackers down onto the guests. Her hair was still a lacquered black, heavily dressed as always at the back of her head. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. The holdings in downtown Washington include buildings in the 1700 and 1800 blocks of K Street and a parking lot at 12th and K; buildings in the 1300 and 1600 blocks of L Street; property in the 1600, 1700 and 1800 blocks of I Street. Most of the band's song titles are too profane for citation in mainstream reviews (or newspaper magazines such as this); one, a song that would surely have outraged the vocalist/guitarist's grandparents, is titled "You Look Like a Jew.". "Those were her orders: The Scotch should never be let go beneath the neck of the decanter. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. Under the terms of an old agreement, each of the sons will automatically receive $7 million, tax-free, in recompense for having forfeited, in the late '60s, some money from a different trust. a medically-induced . But public records show that, like any organization privately controlled by a very small number of people, it is very susceptible to change by a determined leader. In 1971, he resigned from the company amid reports of conflict with his mother, and by the time she wrote a 1977 will, all three sons, including Calvin, had been dealt out of any inheritance. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. Calvin Cafritz Death - Calvin Cafritz, a real estate developer, businessman, and philanthropist in the District of Columbia, passed away on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at Sibley Memorial Hospital. For better or worse, he is the son who has tried to live out both their ambitions -- to build on a scale that will make an impact on the city, and to develop a persona that will make him an actor in the capital. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91.
. For now, the house is tended by at least two servants, who are listed in court documents as living there, and the grass is beautifully clipped, the pachysandra well-tended. But she had a disconcertingly self-serious way of advertising it. Operating under his own banner, Calvin Cafritz Enterprises, he has built both residential and commercial buildings in D.C. and Virginia. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. All three sons were rumored to have difficult relationships with their mother, and it was rare to find them together, bearing in unison the family standard. One quarter to his widow, in a "marital trust" that would pay her interest until her death and give her the power to "appoint" the ultimate heirs to the principal; if she did not exercise this power, the principal would pass to the Cafritzes' sons upon her death. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. Mr. The same plain white damask draped the table, with plain white damask napkins tied around settings of her heavy Georg Jensen flatware. Calvin R Cafritz, (202) 223-3100, 1642 29th St NW, Washington, DC This is in alignment with GW efforts to benefit the local community., Cafritz was a leading force in the establishment of GWs Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL) in 1997, to help support the D.C. government just as it was coming out of receivership from the U.S. Congress. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. Today, he is married to Peggy Cooper Cafritz, who is a local power in the arts and in liberal political causes -- and the only Cafritz listed in Who's Who.