calvin cafritz obituary

But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. In 2001, the Cafritz Foundation gave $1 million toward the Cafritz Conference Center in the University Student Center. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. 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. Even as the chaos of wartime Washington started to loosen social strictures, Washington's leading hostess, Evalyn Walsh McLean, stopped entertaining; this opening, together with a boost from Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson, publisher of the Washington Times-Herald, gave Gwendolyn her opportunity. "Maybe we try a little harder because our family name is well-known," he told a reporter in 1965. No one needed to be told that this was Gwendolyn Cafritz's last hurrah. Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. sales@governmentexecutiveconsultingservices.com, Copyright 2022 Government Executive Consulting Services. When he died, his estate was the largest ever probated in the District of Columbia. Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. Yet in Morris's absence, the family was anything but the tight-knit dynasty he had paved the way for. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. Of the $54 million the foundation has given away since 1970, $32 million has gone to the arts and humanities, almost $9 million to community services, $8 million to education and almost $5 million to health. At the same time, he and Tompkins had the foresight to buy the land now known as Pentagon City. So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. And by 1970, arts and humanities took the largest share of the funding. 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. They had a large fund-raiser for Jesse Jackson in 1988, and for Conrad's 50th birthday, Peggy gave him an enormous black-tie dinner at home. It is easy to imagine that for a son of Morris Cafritz, watching great deals go unmade is a kind of hell. I hope they will. Rachel was a daughter of the late Abraham and Chierney Yarowsky. In July 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation and in the last six months became Chairman Emeritus. 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. ", High culture was one of her chosen routes to acceptance. "I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. And given the life she had lived and the kind of friends she had cultivated, few people were close enough to her to understand why. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. In relation to real estate, Calvin Cafritz dove deep into area projects over the years like the Riverdale Park Station in Prince Georges County as well as developments at 5333 Connecticut Ave. NW and 1725 I St. NW. 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. Even her friends laughed at the way she would seat herself intently in the lobby of the Paris Hotel in Monte Carlo, at a table "very strategically placed," in the words of one, to court the passing society. . The Cromwell, Aberdeen, Fernbrook, Rosedale, Isleworth, Traymore and Zellwood are in sorry shape today, but still stand as a modest monument to the name C-A-F-R-I-T-Z. 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. 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. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. Morris Cafritz is remembered more for the quantity than for the aesthetic quality of his works. 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. Cafritz is survived by Jane, his third wife, who is a lawyer in the area. He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. There is a poignant moment in Gwendolyn's 1956 interview with Murrow when she points out a portrait of herself that hangs on the wall. There are no events scheduled. Small grants went to 15 more Jewish charities, and the rest to such local charities as boys clubs and hospital funds. 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. He was 91. Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. Rogers, an attorney general under President Eisenhower and secretary of state under Richard Nixon, declined to be interviewed for this story; he has denied the allegations in papers filed in court. For one thing, he has a dark, avowedly cynical sense of humor. A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. Washington Life Magazine: June 2007:WEALTH LIST She set aside bequests for two nephews ($35,000 each); a former company employee, Dorothy Casey ($10,000); and four former servants (two bequests of $50,000 and two of $25,000). But it was a heady enough wine to call out 300 guests, and the ghosts of many more who had preceded them. a medically-induced . In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. There are, superficially, great similarities among the three brothers, who all share their mother's dark coloring. We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. 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. Certainly it is Conrad who seems to embody, in one slight frame, the polarities of his parents' lives and personalities. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist has died Yet he uncomplainingly supported all of Gwendolyn's efforts, and was said to adore his colorful bride. "He's creative, he's smart, also ambitious, like his father. 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. Cafritz started by investing in real estate, and was always ready to make a prescient purchase, but his true passion was construction. Throughout his career he was recognized not only for his natural intuitive insight but also for his in-depth study and acute analysis of every possibility for investment in real estate. 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. It is a secretive organization: The foundation would answer no questions for this article. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. 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. Philanthropic 50: Calvin and Jane Cafritz: They Sing For More Than Mr. Cafritz is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz. Baron and Baroness Constantine Stackelberg . Tech Tip: How to Turn Documents and Images into PDFs in Android. In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. 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 . Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. In addition to his loving family, he leaves behind a long-time member of the family household, Lilian Punzalan, and countless admiring friends. The family observed Jewish holidays, and the sons attended religious school at Washington Hebrew Congregation on weekends. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr Mild, self-effacing, decorous, humble, and unfailingly courteous, Mr. Cafritz led by example and always with a smile. Ways to honor Calvin Cafritz's life and legacy. Kateryna Pyatybratova directs the centers Cafritz Awards program. As time went on, she lost complete control, and she had to drink more. Finally, there is an emotional legacy to be earned -- or perhaps shed. Today, Calvin is foundation chairman. In 1929 he also built the since-demolished Ambassador Hotel, at 14th and K streets NW, where he and his family lived until 1938. There is still a sign directing deliveries to the back of the house, as if tradesmen were still streaming up to the front door to importune the lady of the house, and Ridgewell's were due at any moment with more shrimp and cocktail sauce. All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. To Martin Atlas, she left $50,000 and a Chagall painting. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a33c63ad631098ddb002d9da023fc09f" );document.getElementById("gab125c3ec").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. James Edward Cafritz Obituary The trust was established at the death of Morris Cafritz in June 1964 in the interests of saving estate taxes. When the Cafritzes' back terrace offered the most celebrated view of the city, southeast, past the swimming pool and rolling lawn, all the way to the Capitol. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to a charity of your choice. (Conrad and Peggy were both involved in Barry's first election campaign, and Peggy is the godmother of Barry's son, Christopher.) Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. 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. As you draw close to the famous burgundy front door, with its surrounding marble, you can see that the paint is cracking and fading to pink; and greenish stains from metal window fixtures are starting to weep down the white brick walls. But maybe they just don't want Gwen Cafritz to have the last word. For another, he is said to alternate in seconds between a manic intensity and a mumbling diffidence. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. His class yearbook is littered with references to his family's money; in a list at the back of "most likely" candidates, the last two entries read, "Most Likely to Succeed: Johnson, Clague," and "Doesn't Have To: Cafritz. Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". 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. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. 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. Her husband, along with her parents, was buried in Washington Hebrew Cemetery, in Southeast, in a nicely landscaped, square plot designed for four under a monumental headstone reading CAFRITZ. 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. 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. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . All Rights Reserved. His father, Morris, established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and . For him, philanthropy required partnerships that are broad, diverse, and extensive. He started by buying -- for $700,000, in 1922 -- the equivalent of 90 city blocks in Petworth, including the Columbia Golf Club, and ultimately built 3,000 houses there. 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. Conrad's strategy has been diversity. 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. "She felt that was the end, when she couldn't function socially.". "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. "Watch Washington Grow to One Million," he urged in newspaper ads of the '40s, a slogan he changed to "Watch Washington Grow to Two Million" after the 1950 census counted more than 1.4 million in the metropolitan area. 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. Calvin R Cafritz, (202) 223-3100, 1642 29th St NW, Washington, DC He was 91 at the time he died. 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. There he built the massive River House apartments; his estate eventually sold most of the land for others to develop. 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. 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. Cafritzs passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Calvin Cafritz - Rockville, Maryland , Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky At the heart of the lawsuit is a quest to gain at least partial control over the whole empire of which Gwendolyn's estate is an integral piece, over the whole legacy that Morris Cafritz created. He was an excellent listener and always got both the big picture and important details by asking insightful questions. Write your message of sympathy today. He too has denied the sons' allegations in his formal answer to their complaint. 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. "Decedent's condition deteriorated after the death of her husband in 1964 and grew worse in the following years. Remembering Calvin Cafritz - Meyer Foundation Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. Their complaint challenges her wish to leave all she owned, except for minor bequests, to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable trust her husband had established 40 years before. 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. 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 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. 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? 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. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. There is, for example, the very palpable legacy of real estate developed by Morris Cafritz, including several lots and 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. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the. Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. He served in these roles until 2022, when Jane Lipton Cafritz, his wife, was elected Board Chair and President and CEO. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. He began with houses, ultimately building about 10,000 homes in the Washington area. The mission of the foundation is improving the quality of life for all Washington, D.C., metropolitan-area residents, Boerstling said. ", 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). 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. ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. "He wasn't overly enthused about it, but those were her wishes, and he sort of enjoyed it in a quiet way. She left $25,000 to a favorite former escort, a Brazilian former employee of the Inter-American Development Bank who now lives in Rio de Janeiro. The D.C. community is better for his engagement and we will miss him terribly.. 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. Published by The Washington Post on Jan. 22, 2023. 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. Mr. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. ", 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. You have funeral questions, we have answers. The suit was filed by the middle and youngest Cafritz sons, Carter, 53, and Conrad, 51. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? 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. Once it was built, he wasn't interested in it.". But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. "I just thought she maybe had had enough of running around, and she was maybe going to stay in a while. She was forever trying to tell me some long story I could never make head or tail of. . Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." She appears every week on the WETA-TV arts show "Around Town." 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. That task was left to her closest relatives. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz | GW Today | The George Washington University The foundation is Washington's largest source of private funds earmarked exclusively for local projects, large enough to give the person who controls it a potentially shaping influence on the city. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies Except for minor bequests to former employees and other family members, she also left to the foundation all of the property she owned outright. The house on Foxhall Road, completed in 1938, was explicitly designed to fulfill that ambition. He was 91. The Cafritz Foundation is also a longtime supporter of GWs Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. There is no photo or video of Calvin Cafritz.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. That's what we call a success story. Calvin H. Frazier (February 16, 1915 - September 23, 1972) was an American Detroit blues and country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. 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.

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