Remembering Calvin Cafritz - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation She could no longer make an entrance, of course. Gwen Cafritz and her chief rival, Perle Mesta, were in fact the first of a new breed -- celebrity hostesses who openly courted the press and saw no shame in self-promotion. CALVIN FRITZ OBITUARY Wyoming - Calvin "Roger" Fritz, 69, of Wyoming, passed away at 5:29 p.m. Friday, December 24, 2021 at his home. January 12, 2023 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 daughter of a Hungarian immunologist who had a role in devising the early Wasserman test to detect syphilis, Gwen Cafritz was the opposite of her husband. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. The singers belonged to the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program (YAP), one of the opera world's most prestigious breeding grounds for the next generation of Pavarottis and Renee . 2017-2023 Tribute Archive. 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. To plant trees in memory, please visit the. Jane Lipton Cafritz was elected in the second half of 2022 to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO. In May, Jane Lipton Cafritz hosted a lunch that brought together a number of young opera singers and many of their supporters and admirers. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. Baron and Baroness Constantine Stackelberg . He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. 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. ", Conrad Cafritz is, in a word fondly used by friends, weird. . She was forever trying to tell me some long story I could never make head or tail of. including, but not limited to, any facilities located in Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach, Florida; or Monte Carlo, Monaco." Papers filed in court by his sons' lawyers say he was born in 1888; his gravestone says 1890, which would have made him only 14 when he started his business career. 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.". Thanks to the support of the Cafritz Foundation for the last 25 years, CEPL has supported organizational transformation across the public sector in the city. When Morris Cafritz died in 1964, his estate was worth $66 million, mostly in the form of stock in dozens of closely held corporations he had established to manage his real estate. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. His mother, Gwendolyn, one of Washington's leading hostesses in the post-World War II years, was President of the Foundation from 1964 to 1988. For one thing, he has a dark, avowedly cynical sense of humor. He was 91. Calvin Cafritz and the Cafritz Foundation have been part of the GW Honey Nashman Center from its earliest roots in the Office of Community Service and the Neighbors Project in the 1990s through to the present, said Amy Cohen, executive director of the center. I hope they will. Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. After college and military service, he rejoined the firm in 1956 and served in various positions, until the death of his father in 1964 when he became President of Cafritz Company, Cafritz Construction Company, and Ambassador, Inc. During his tenure, the companies developed, constructed, and leased a number of additional office buildings in Washington's central business district. 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." He never tired of committing himself to this mission, which only grew bigger with time. Since 1989, Cafritz led the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable organization named for his parents. In the process, he amassed one of the first great fortunes to be carved out of Washington itself. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. Click here for full story from WTOP and the Washington Business Journal. "Calvin is a very sweet, very nice person," says D.C. lawyer Max N. Berry. It is, as always, unclear where her inborn quirkiness shaded into the effects of alcoholism; but many of her friends, in later years, simply came to think of her as "difficult" or "eccentric"; Almost everyone has a story about her forgetting their names, or making some sudden comment of shocking rudeness. But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. Conrad and his first wife entertained often in their Georgetown house in the '60s, giving parties -- often liberal fund-raisers -- that offered cozy intimations of radical chic. None of the Cafritz sons can be said to need the money that is at stake. But Carter and Conrad Cafritz are not named in their mother's will. "She felt that was the end, when she couldn't function socially.". But like all wills, the one now known in probate court as 3035-88 offers more than one legacy, and thus more than one motive. A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. Their differences were, in fact, a part of their legend, for they were one of the earliest families to bring together the two cities on the Potomac: On the one hand was the ethereal world of social and political Washington -- her world, which venerated either good birth or a seat in the Senate; on the other hand was his world, the corporeal city of sewers and streets and buildings and real citizens, men and women who grew up above grocery stores the way Morris Cafritz had. 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. The longtime GW supporter had a unique relationship with the university and the city of Washington, D.C. Center for Excellence in Public Leadership, Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, GW is committed to digital accessibility. 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. All of their lives, the Cafritz boys have been aware of their status as the sons of Morris and Gwendolyn. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies The Cafritz Foundation was one of the biggest in the D.C. area, with over $400 million in assets and around $65 million in annual revenue and expenses, according to The Washington Business Journal. But its true targets are two longtime advisers who are executors of her estate: Martin Atlas, for decades the closest business associate of both Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, and William P. Rogers, the former attorney general and secretary of state who was Gwendolyn's personal attorney. Calvin Cafritz Obituary The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation has Died January 17, 2023 Calvin Cafritz Death, Obituary - Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, died Thursday at Sibley Memorial Hospital. To Calvin Cafritz, she left the symbolic role of family chief, Morris Cafritz'ssuccessor in a world of primogeniture. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." What do Conrad and Carter Cafritz hope to gain from an arduous legal proceeding that already involves at least 12 law firms and threatens to stretch on for years? Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist has died Today he shares office space and support staff with Conrad's growing interests, but for the most part pursues his own deals. Calvin Cafritz obituary - fskhub.com Peggy Cooper Cafritz, a doyenne of Washington arts and education, who tried to mend many of the city's social and racial wounds, created one of the nation's leading arts-intensive high schools,. Was believed to be 102. 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. Two and a half years later Gwendolyn Cafritz was dead of cancer, at 78, and the following summer -- three years after that final party -- her two younger sons filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to have her will overturned and her estate, worth at least $140 million, divided among her children. "Carter, he always did what the other two did," says Casey. Vidal wrote, "Irene's evening dress was much too vivid, too personal, too fashionable for the calculated dowdiness" of a dinner in old-line Washington. Then there is the foundation itself, with its powerful endowment for the city. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to a charity of your choice. 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. When she drafted her third and last will in 1981, she wrote a final clause that reads almost like an afterthought, but resounds in the lawsuit now underway: "It is my wish that our descendents {sic} shall maintain an interest in the affairs of THE MORRIS AND GWENDOLYN CAFRITZ FOUNDATION and its philanthropic purposes and I desire that, following my death, CALVIN CAFRITZ be elected to serve on the board of the Foundation.". The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. He warmly greeted staff and fellow philanthropist alike, making no distinction between people.

. Write your message of sympathy today. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. But it was hard to remember, here, the titanic social ambition that had made her what she was. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 pm on December 2 at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson with David Schaefers officiating. . And to the publicity-loathing cave dwellers, the Georgetown hostesses who were society leaders by birth, Gwendolyn's so-visible efforts made her a figure of fun. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. Calvin Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction in 1947, pausing briefly to attend college and serve in the military. He was an excellent listener and always got both the big picture and important details by asking insightful questions. There he built the massive River House apartments; his estate eventually sold most of the land for others to develop. 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. She carried her isolation to her grave. His father, Morris, established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and . (Conrad and Peggy were both involved in Barry's first election campaign, and Peggy is the godmother of Barry's son, Christopher.) Cafritz is survived by his third wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a Washington lawyer whom he married in 2000; his three children; three stepchildren (including Olivia Rubenstein, who earned a masters degree from GSEHD in 2018); and numerous grandchildren and step-grandchildren, as well as his brother, Conrad Cafritz, chairman and CEO of Cafritz Interests. "I think it has the clean linear design of a Botticelli, and the elegance of an English portrait," she burbles, in her faintly accented great-lady voice, "and that's the way I would like my children to remember me. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. a medically-induced . Gwendolyn Cafritz, 78, Washington Hostess - The New York Times 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. "Very sort of philosophic, sort of honorable." Today, Calvin is foundation chairman. James Edward Cafritz <p>James Edward Cafritz of Bethesda, MD, passed away on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, at the age of 90. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Morris Cafritz incorporated the foundation in 1948 to give money to Washington-area charities, and when he died 16 years later, he left it half his estate, mostly as stock in dozens of closely held corporations; as the new majority owner of most of these companies, and with Gwendolyn owning most of the rest, the foundation became in essence the owner of the Cafritz Co., its subsidiaries and its assets. He was 91 at the time he died. Calvin Cafritz Obituary Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. One interrogatory demands that Riggs National Bank, which was Gwendolyn's bank, "identify all individuals or facilities that, from 1954 until Gwendolyn Cafritz' death, provided to Gwendolyn Cafritz any care, advice, counseling, or treatment relating to her consumption of alcohol . Calvin Cafritz, developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies But in the end, her siege of Washington society outlasted most of those limits. Rachel M. Ratowsky Obituary Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr Calvins father Morris built the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel at 14. and K Streets NW, homes next to the National Arboretum, the Greenwich Forest neighborhood in Bethesda and several office buildings downtown. 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. Calvin Fritz Obituary (1952 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers "For over 30 years the Cafritz Foundation has supported The Textile Museum, especially as a prominent proponent of the museums move to the George Washington University,"said John Wetenhall, director of the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the. 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. Power List 2010: DC Family Dynasties - Washington Life Magazine He was 91 years of. "Jews in general just didn't figure. She had not given a party for eight years, and even then, she had been memorializing the past; the real tradition, the old wine being decanted on this lambent June evening, had been decades in storage. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation in December 1988 and since February 1989 had served as Board Chairman. 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 H. Frazier (February 16, 1915 - September 23, 1972) was an American Detroit blues and country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. 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. 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. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. Only between the lines or in conversations with old friends can one make out how nakedly she wore her ambitions, and how hard she was working to measure up. ", 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. There are no events at this time. G Guest 4 hours ago Comment Share T The staff at Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care Inc a day ago We plant this tree as a living memorial to Calvin. Giving to charity is a meaningful way to honor someone who has died. He is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz, chairman and CEO of Cafritz Interests, a real estate company. ", Her drinking got out of control, he agrees, shortly after Morris Cafritz's sudden death of a heart attack in 1964. It is also different from proving that a respected lawyer and former Cabinet member, in league with a longtime family associate, unfairly loaded the dice. The trust was established at the death of Morris Cafritz in June 1964 in the interests of saving estate taxes. Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. What do the younger sons of the celebrated Washington hostess hope to gain by waging legal war over their mother's will? Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. 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. 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. Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. 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. 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. It is hard not to wonder what the effect might have been of hearing Gwendolyn Cafritz's will read for the first time. It is not clear how old he was when he fell for a 19-year-old Hungarian-American beauty named Gwendolyn Detre de Surany; perhaps because she was so much younger than he, Cafritz appears to have habitually understated his age by six or eight years. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. But he reached outside that circle when he finally married. He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. The Cafritz Foundation is also responsible for developing Art Place at Fort Totten, a huge mixed-use project in the Northeast D.C. area. Mr. Cafritz was married previously two times; his first wife was Enid Cafritz and his second wife was Joyce Smith. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. In any case, he was at least 20 years older than his bride when they married in 1929. Morris had one vision, and Gwendolyn another; whoever now gains control might offer still a third. Mr. (202) 338-4833, Georgetown Media Group. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . 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. It was an invitation to stroll around the house and remember: When Gwen Cafritz, with her 19-inch waist and Balmain gowns, her raven hair and regal air, had won constant publicity for her parties -- 22 to dinner, with toasts over champagne, and enormous receptions like this one each spring and fall. Remembering Calvin Cafritz - Meyer Foundation It is easy to imagine that for a son of Morris Cafritz, watching great deals go unmade is a kind of hell. To slip out of the speedy traffic on Foxhall Road into the half-circle driveway was to slip back in time. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. If you know of an upcoming event for Calvin Cafritz, please add one. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, grande dame of the Washington arts and education "Carter Cafritz is just a genuine nice fellow," says Raymond Carter, a former vice president of the Cafritz Co. "Conrad is more in the father's mold. Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. 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. In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. 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. David Kessler's top 4 tips for dealing with holiday grief. Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. Carter appears something of a cipher even to old family associates. Your email address will not be published. But he believes her drinking was a source of family discord. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. Waiters passed shrimp with cocktail sauce, while full bars offered prehistoric spirits such as bourbon and gin, defiant holdouts in the age of chardonnay and bottled water. Marvin LaVerne Katz, 83, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Dallas. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? January 2023 - Page 189 - obituaries death Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". Peggy, the product of a well-to-do black family from Mobile, Ala., has worked especially at promoting arts in the black community: She almost single-handedly founded the Duke Ellington School for the Arts and was Marion Barry's first chairman of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. It took lawyers and IRS agents 4 years to settle the estate, which was valued in 1968 at $66 million. Your email address will not be published. He was for years the president of the Jewish Community Center and donated the land for its first headquarters on Q Street NW. She has pressured the Smithsonian to increase the number of minorities in high-ranking positions and has been arrested outside the South African Embassy as a leader of Mother's Day protests there. But it was a heady enough wine to call out 300 guests, and the ghosts of many more who had preceded them. The India-born founder and CEO of District-based software company Hunch Analytics is an active benefactor of both Washington and Indian causes and nonprofit groups. He began with houses, ultimately building about 10,000 homes in the Washington area. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. Here, beyond the threshold, was the stunning circular entrance hall, dramatic enough to live up to the woman who once swept down the stairs to greet her guests. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. CAFRITZ V. CAFRITZ - The Washington Post Cafritz started by investing in real estate, and was always ready to make a prescient purchase, but his true passion was construction. All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. In 2021 alone, the foundation awarded some 430 grants to 413 nonprofits. ", The Cafritzes slept in separate bedrooms, Morris rising at dawn to get to the office. "Right at the moment he could be most charming, he does something to undercut it," says one friend. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Website by Red Clay Creative, Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area.
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