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. Washington, DC 20007 Her skin had an unhealthy, pouchy pallor; extending an uncertain hand, she had the air of a dreamer deploying remembered charms. Kateryna Pyatybratova directs the centers Cafritz Awards program. The majority of this property was already owned by the Cafritz Foundation, but Gwendolyn was partial owner of many of the buildings; even a limited power to control their disposition would presumably attract men with ambitions in Washington real estate. ", 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. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. While he was head of the foundation, Cafritz distributed grants to places like The National Gallery of Art, Washington National Opera and The Kennedy Center. 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. With such a ruling, the trust would pass to the three sons, as outlined in Morris's will. 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." Calvin Cafritz (1931-2023) | The Georgetowner 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. Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. Obituary. At seated dinners for 22, she entertained ambassadors and justices, senators and Cabinet secretaries. The Washington Harbour purchase, along with a current joint venture to develop a riverfront office and hotel project in Rosslyn, has caused speculation that Conrad Cafritz is increasingly eager to be identified with high-quality, high-profile projects that might bring him more notice. The control of so much money, especially in a city with limited corporate philanthropy, brings enormous power. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. "She was not, as they say, invited anywhere at the beginning," recalls Gore Vidal, whose novel Washington, D.C. includes a character "suggested," he says, by Gwendolyn Cafritz. But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. Mr. Cafritz said that the awards are designed to "shine a light on the contributions of extraordinary government employees. 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. James Edward Cafritz Obituary ", Her drinking got out of control, he agrees, shortly after Morris Cafritz's sudden death of a heart attack in 1964. 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. All rights reserved. Gwendolyn Cafritz, 78, Washington Hostess - The New York Times Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. In 1971, Mr. Cafritz resigned to form Calvin Cafritz Enterprises, with investments in aviation, communications, and Washington area real estate. 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. Implicitly, Carter and Conrad Cafritz are also challenging her designation of Calvin, the eldest, as the only son who will have a future role in running the foundation, which already controls assets of more than $220 million. Calvin Cafritz Obituary (1931 - 2023) - Washington, DC - The Washington 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. 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.. He also is a director. She carried her isolation to her grave. There was no one she would not invite to dinner, sometimes calling the offices of Cabinet secretaries to ask for any day in the next year when the secretary would be free. By the time of her death, however, Calvin was still the son closest to his mother. It is hard not to wonder what the effect might have been of hearing Gwendolyn Cafritz's will read for the first time. After Morris Cafritz died, his close associate Martin Atlas became executive vice president of the company, and vice president and treasurer of the Cafritz Foundation, while Gwendolyn Cafritz ultimately became president of both. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. "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. . It is easy to imagine that for a son of Morris Cafritz, watching great deals go unmade is a kind of hell. Remembering Calvin Cafritz - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation The suit was filed by the middle and youngest Cafritz sons, Carter, 53, and Conrad, 51. For him, philanthropy required partnerships that are broad, diverse, and extensive. "Jews in general just didn't figure. 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. There he built the massive River House apartments; his estate eventually sold most of the land for others to develop. "Lots of times she could drink and she knew exactly what she was doing. In addition to his loving family, he leaves behind a long-time member of the family household, Lilian Punzalan, and countless admiring friends. Then there is the charitable legacy. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. "Carter, he always did what the other two did," says Casey. CAFRITZ SONS WIN ESTATE CHALLENGE - The Washington Post 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. 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. Following the death of his father, Calvin became president of The Cafritz Co., Cafritz Construction Co. and Ambassador, Inc. in 1964. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. Yet he uncomplainingly supported all of Gwendolyn's efforts, and was said to adore his colorful bride. In May, Jane Lipton Cafritz hosted a lunch that brought together a number of young opera singers and many of their supporters and admirers. He was preceded in death by his brother Carter Cafritz. 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. Marvin Katz Obituary - Richardson, TX - Dignity Memorial Mr. Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction Company in 1947. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing Money -- to be sure. 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. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr Once grown, the sons established limited, perfunctory contacts with their mother. An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. Morris Cafritz is remembered more for the quantity than for the aesthetic quality of his works. The Cafritz Foundation is also a longtime supporter of GWs Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. He resigned seven years later to form Cafritz Enterprises. He was 91. When he died, his estate would be the largest ever probated in the District of Columbia; it would take teams of lawyers and IRS agents four years to settle the estate, finally valued in 1968 at $66 million. Calvin Fritz Obituary (1952 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers He has always been involved in the bread and butter real estate of housing, from building single-family homes in Prince William County to renovating apartment complexes in Alexandria; he was a major beneficiary of the Washington condo boom. He was 91. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Asked in 1954 why all her sons bore two-syllable names beginning with "C," she replied, "Morris names all children, horses, dogs, apartment houses and everything around here. He was 91 years of. 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. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . And by 1970, arts and humanities took the largest share of the funding. This suit asks the court to overturn her will, after which, under D.C. law, her property would be divided among her sons. Md.-based government contractor relocates headquarters to Fairfax Co. Montgomery County, MD Files Lawsuit Against McKinsey and Company, Inc. for Companys Role in Creating Opioid Epidemic, GSA Seeks Commercial Procurement Data Solution. David Kessler's top 4 tips for dealing with holiday grief. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Calvin Cafritz (Rockville, Maryland), who passed away on January 12, 2023, at the age of 91, leaving to mourn family and friends. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. 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? Gwendolyn Cafritz died of cancer last November. But the fourth square in the plot remains empty; Gwendolyn Cafritz was memorialized in a Presbyterian church and had herself buried far north in Rockville's Parklawn Cemetery, among strangers. Conrad's strategy has been diversity. For one thing, he has a dark, avowedly cynical sense of humor. But Conrad has rolled out impressive legal artillery, captained by former White House counsel Lloyd N. Cutler, and seems prepared to dig in for a long siege -- at least long enough, perhaps, to wring a settlement from his opponents. Tech Tip: How to Turn Documents and Images into PDFs in Android. Gwendolyn left the $14 million landmark to the foundation, with the very Gwendolyn-like wish that it become "a center in which scholars, statesmen and civic leaders may conduct research, conferences, seminars and other func-tions relating to issues of interest tomankind.". He was 91. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. 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. Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. "Maybe we try a little harder because our family name is well-known," he told a reporter in 1965. As the hostess had asked, Ridgewell's Caterers heaped the silver platters and chafing dishes with the same filling, fusty food -- the whole poached salmon, the ham and turkey and carved tenderloin; none of the pastas or blackened seafood or grilled vegetables then in fashion. Irene Bloch, as she is called, is a wealthy department store owner's wife who mounts a relentless campaign for acceptance in Washington society. . In 2021 alone, the foundation awarded some 430 grants to 413 nonprofits. 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.". To those who thronged to the parties, the children were rarely in evidence. 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. "That what she wanted was pointless is not for us to judge.". He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. He was 91. And even then, there was always fussing. "Decedent's condition deteriorated after the death of her husband in 1964 and grew worse in the following years. "Old Washington was very antisemitic, as you know," continues Vidal, whose childhood here as the stepson of lawyer and investor Hugh D. Auchincloss and the grandson of Oklahoma Sen. Thomas Gore gave him an intimate education in Washington society. Small grants went to 15 more Jewish charities, and the rest to such local charities as boys clubs and hospital funds. The mission of the foundation is improving the quality of life for all Washington, D.C., metropolitan-area residents, Boerstling said. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. 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. ", 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. But of the property over which she had control, Gwendolyn left her children only "such photographs, family mementos, and similar objects of domestic use or ornamentation as my executors, in their absolute discretion, shall determine that I would wish to have preserved for my children.". 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 . (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). She is survived by her daughter Jane Cafritz (Calvin) of Washington, DC, five grandchildren: James Speyer, Irina Rubenstein and . He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. He also has three children, five grandchildren and three stepchildren. "She was a classic case," summarizes Vidal. But maybe they just don't want Gwen Cafritz to have the last word. 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. 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. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. Funeral arrangement under the care ofSAGEL BLOOMFIELD DANZANSKY GOLDBERG FUNERAL CARE INC. 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. With him at the helm, the foundation distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to a range of organizations, including the National Gallery of Art, Bread for the City and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She was born January 30, 1936 in Kennett, MO to the late David Richard Roberts and Betty Burbank Roberts. (91 years old). Aubinoe and Edwards also designed the Cafritzes' dramatic house on Foxhall Road. 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. Cardiac Arrest.Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time, Over the last few decades, there have been some shocking and untimely deaths of few celebrities, Celebrity deaths in 2022: Remembering the famous faces we lost this year . Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. 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. 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. Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. There is no photo or video of Calvin Cafritz.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. Some observers speculate that Conrad, hardheaded real estate man that he is, simply wants some say in the disposition of the real estate owned -- in many cases, co-owned -- by the foundation and Gwendolyn's estate. Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies 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. Your email address will not be published. "Calvin is a very sweet, very nice person," says D.C. lawyer Max N. Berry. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the charitable organization Calvin Cafritz had led since 1989, confirmed his passing and provided a copy of his obituary, which didnt disclose cause of death. But he's much different from his father, in a lot of ways. It is hard to imagine, in this competitive atmosphere, that a single person could have dominated the field as Morris Cafritz once did. In the '70s she became a near-recluse. Perhaps as a result, he works hard, with much of Morris's old drive. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. The same plain white damask draped the table, with plain white damask napkins tied around settings of her heavy Georg Jensen flatware. In addition, there are at least 10 apartment buildings in D.C. Conrad, say friends, has watched in frustration as downtown Washington boomed and the foundation failed to take maximum advantage of its holdings. He has assembled a group of about 14 local hotels, including the Georgetown Inn and One Washington Circle. No one needed to be told that this was Gwendolyn Cafritz's last hurrah. Obituary | Betty Colvin of Warren, Arkansas | Frazer's Funeral Home In real estate, especially within the constricting borders of D.C., power isn't limited to those who own the land; controlling the land can be almost as good.