Mild, self-effacing, decorous, humble, and unfailingly courteous, Mr. Cafritz led by example and always with a smile. 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. Calvin Cafritz, a successful businessman, was involved in real estate for more than fifty years. 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. Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. He never tired of committing himself to this mission, which only grew bigger with time. In addition to his loving family, he leaves behind a long-time member of the family household, Lilian Punzalan, and countless admiring friends. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. There are, superficially, great similarities among the three brothers, who all share their mother's dark coloring. There is, for example, the very palpable legacy of real estate developed by Morris Cafritz, including several lots and office buildings downtown. 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 died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. "I'm sure part of it was to show Herb Miller he was serious.". Tech Tip: How to Turn Documents and Images into PDFs in Android. Then there is the charitable legacy. 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,. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. Calvin Cafritz obituary - fskhub.com "She was good to me, and she was a good woman in my eyes," he says. According to Susan Boerstling, GWs assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations, the partnership of the Cafritz Foundation with GW is unique in terms of other universities in the area. The annual Cafritz Awards Gala has been held on campus for many years, Boerstling noted, representing a partnership between the university, the foundation and the Office of the D.C. Mayor. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. 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. 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. 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. 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. "With so-called friends all around her, she was a very lonely woman," says Dowling. 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). All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. 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. Conrad and Carter Cafritz are pursuing this stake in two ways: One is a lawsuit naming all her beneficiaries and her executors -- William P. Rogers, Martin Atlas and Riggs National Bank. They keep china and glassware sufficient to serve hundreds. 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. Except for minor bequests to former employees and other family members, she also left to the foundation all of the property she owned outright. Your email address will not be published. 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. Age: 91 years old Also known as: Mr Calvin Cafritz, Calvin Cafritz View Full Report Mobile number ADS View Current Number Landline number (202) 223-3100 Email addresses ccafritz@cafritzfoundation.org Relatives Calvin Cafritz Jane Cafritz Current address 1642 29th St NW, Washington, DC, 20007-2901 See more results for Calvin Cafritz The house on Foxhall Road, completed in 1938, was explicitly designed to fulfill that ambition. That's what we call a success story. The Cafritz Foundation is also responsible for developing Art Place at Fort Totten, a huge mixed-use project in the Northeast D.C. area. If you could walk around to the back, you might look out at the famous view; and you might almost see as far as Southeast D.C., where Morris lies with his in-laws, still waiting. 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. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. The family observed Jewish holidays, and the sons attended religious school at Washington Hebrew Congregation on weekends. In July 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation and in the last six months became Chairman Emeritus. 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). 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 . Remembering Calvin Cafritz - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation That task was left to her closest relatives. He often conveyed his conviction that believing in a cause obligated one to support it financially. Because Gwendolyn's estate has not been probated, its value is hard to establish. What do the younger sons of the celebrated Washington hostess hope to gain by waging legal war over their mother's will? 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. The control of so much money, especially in a city with limited corporate philanthropy, brings enormous power. With such a ruling, the trust would pass to the three sons, as outlined in Morris's will. 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 was 91. He began with houses, ultimately building about 10,000 homes in the Washington area. Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. Conrad, who was a losing bidder for the job, waged a lengthy challenge, arguing that Western was giving short shrift to the minority partners whose participation qualified the partnership for the contract award; though he finally lost last year, he succeeded in forcing a renegotiation of terms between Western and the Redevelopment Land Agency. 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. Calvin Cafritz Obituary ", High culture was one of her chosen routes to acceptance. Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. "She wanted something, and she put up with a lot of {expletive}, and she got it. "He took me into the kitchen and showed me how the cook would leave coffee for him in the morning," remembers the friend. . Mr. Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction Company in 1947. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. 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. He was 91. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing Cafritz developed real estate here for more than four decades, until his death in 1964, and by the sheer volume and variety of his building activities was for a time the undisputed king of his field. If you know of an upcoming event for Calvin Cafritz, please add one. Washington, DC 20007 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. 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. 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. "Right at the moment he could be most charming, he does something to undercut it," says one friend. Cafritzs passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Of the three Cafritz sons, says restaurateur Herb White, "Conrad seems to be the one who has something to prove to himself.". In his later years he established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. . In May, Jane Lipton Cafritz hosted a lunch that brought together a number of young opera singers and many of their supporters and admirers. 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. And {Gwendolyn} was just considered comical, and there were a lot of jokes about her. He resigned seven years later to form Cafritz Enterprises. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. Conrad has six children -- three adopted sons, who were Jennifer's by a first marriage; two daughters with Jennifer; and, with Peggy, 5-year-old Zachary. She is survived by her daughter Jane Cafritz (Calvin) of Washington, DC, five grandchildren: James Speyer, Irina Rubenstein and . Services Guestbook Condolences. 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. He was 91 years of. 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. For the sons of Gwendolyn Cafritz, to accept her last will and testament would be to allow her, in more than one sense, the last word. Power List 2010: DC Family Dynasties - Washington Life Magazine "The decanter always had to be full," Dowling says. He was 91 at the time he died. 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. . 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. Write your message of sympathy today. The 2019 Philanthropic 50 - Washington Life Magazine We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Mr. Cafritz is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz. 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. 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. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. Washington, DC 20006. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz please visit our,

An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. Gradually, he branched into entertainment, operating the first open-air movies in Washington (a matter of setting up chairs in vacant lots), and then a bowling alley and pool hall in Southeast, near the Navy Yard. With support from the Cafritz Foundation, the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership hosts a yearly awards gala to honor D.C. government employees who demonstrate outstanding public service. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. Find Calvin Cafritz obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com (202) 338-4833, Georgetown Media Group. David Kessler's top 4 tips for dealing with holiday grief. In 1929 he also built the since-demolished Ambassador Hotel, at 14th and K streets NW, where he and his family lived until 1938. He was 91. She was born January 30, 1936 in Kennett, MO to the late David Richard Roberts and Betty Burbank Roberts. 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. ON JUNE 10, 1986, GWENDOLYN D. CAFRITZ GAVE HER LAST PARTY. Here, still, was the art moderne house, nearly as startling in 1986 as it had been when Morris Cafritz built it for his young family almost 50 years earlier. 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. . Mr. . Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. The Cafritz Foundation is also a longtime supporter of GWs Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. 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. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation.

. 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. ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". 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. Click here for full story from WTOP and the Washington Business Journal. 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. "Calvin is a very sweet, very nice person," says D.C. lawyer Max N. Berry. 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. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . 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. Her hair was still a lacquered black, heavily dressed as always at the back of her head. Today he shares office space and support staff with Conrad's growing interests, but for the most part pursues his own deals. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies "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. Cafritz died in 1964 of a heart attack. 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. There are no events at this time. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Once grown, the sons established limited, perfunctory contacts with their mother. Calvin Fritz Obituary (1952 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers Kateryna Pyatybratova directs the centers Cafritz Awards program. 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 died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. Through a number of different companies, he both invests in and develops all kinds of properties -- commercial, residential, retail and even industrial. But in the end, her siege of Washington society outlasted most of those limits. Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. She was 78 years old. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies Another asks the bank to produce "all documents relating to purchase or provision of wine, champagne, or liquor on behalf of or for Gwendolyn Cafritz or for delivery to or consumption at 2301 Foxhall Road. Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. 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. 2 SONS CONTEST $84 MILLION CAFRITZ WILL - The Washington Post But he reached outside that circle when he finally married. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? "He's creative, he's smart, also ambitious, like his father. 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. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." Perhaps as a result, he works hard, with much of Morris's old drive. 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. As time went on, she lost complete control, and she had to drink more. Calvins father Morris built the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel at 14th and K Streets NW, homes next to the National Arboretum, the Greenwich Forest neighborhood in Bethesda and several office buildings downtown. His faith was great enough to lead him into investments that would later seem visionary: He developed the Temple Heights tract at Connecticut and Florida, for example, buying the land in 1945 with developer Charles H. Tompkins and sitting on it for 12 years before selling the northern part for development of the Washington Hilton, and building the two Universal Buildings on the southern part of the site. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. After their marriage in 1981, Conrad and Peggy bought Sen. Stuart Symington's house in the Foxhall Road area, studied it for a while, then tore it down to build a new house. It is easy to imagine that for a son of Morris Cafritz, watching great deals go unmade is a kind of hell. ", Conrad Cafritz is, in a word fondly used by friends, weird. The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, grande dame of the Washington arts and education You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. 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. CALVIN FRITZ OBITUARY Wyoming - Calvin "Roger" Fritz, 69, of Wyoming, passed away at 5:29 p.m. Friday, December 24, 2021 at his home. ", While she cultivated the mighty, Morris looked closer to home, helping to found the Washington Community Chest, becoming an activist in local Jewish groups. 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. 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. 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. And by 1970, arts and humanities took the largest share of the funding. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. And in the two decades of her advocacy, she has established a high profile -- and raised a lot of hackles among the old guard that runs most of the city's major cultural institutions. James Edward Cafritz Obituary "Getting along with her," says one developer who knows the family, "was something none of them ever mastered. It is hard to imagine, in this competitive atmosphere, that a single person could have dominated the field as Morris Cafritz once did. 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. . 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 pm on December 2 at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson with David Schaefers officiating. Conrad and Carter Cafritz are claiming that Rogers and Atlas "secured domination and control" over Gwendolyn, controlling all of her assets and making her the figurehead president of both the foundation and the real estate businesses, "notwithstanding that she was, and Defendants Atlas and Rogers knew she was, incapable of discharging the duties incumbent upon her in such positions." She appears every week on the WETA-TV arts show "Around Town." In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. About - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. 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. Finally, there is an emotional legacy to be earned -- or perhaps shed. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafritz; cherished grandfather to Daniel, Ryan, Jeremy, Jack and Mick; beloved friend of first wife Sandie Cafritz; loving brother to the late William (Buffy) Cafritz; treasured uncle to Sandy (Helen . 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. 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. He too has denied the sons' allegations in his formal answer to their complaint. a medically-induced . "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. 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 Carter and Conrad Cafritz are not named in their mother's will. In the '70s she became a near-recluse. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). "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. 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.