"I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. 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. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. Mr. Cafritz said that the awards are designed to "shine a light on the contributions of extraordinary government employees. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. 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. Her statements in the press, even the adoring press of yore, suggest at the least a daunting mother. In 1962, when it was the product of Morris Cafritz's vision, the largest grants went to the United Jewish Appeal and the Community Chest Federation. And he still fights his battles with a surprising intensity, rarely bothering with the shake-hands-and-forget-it bonhomie common in Washington business. 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. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. 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. 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. 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. In 2021 alone, the foundation awarded some 430 grants to 413 nonprofits. 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. Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. All Rights Reserved. Finally, there is an emotional legacy to be earned -- or perhaps shed. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. The same plain white damask draped the table, with plain white damask napkins tied around settings of her heavy Georg Jensen flatware. He resigned seven years later to form Cafritz Enterprises. Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. Morris had one vision, and Gwendolyn another; whoever now gains control might offer still a third. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. He may sometimes have yearned for recognition: One night, after one of the glamorous dinners, he drew a friend of Gwendolyn's away from the dining room and into the kitchen. In May, Jane Lipton Cafritz hosted a lunch that brought together a number of young opera singers and many of their supporters and admirers. 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. 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. No one needed to be told that this was Gwendolyn Cafritz's last hurrah. The house on Foxhall Road, completed in 1938, was explicitly designed to fulfill that ambition. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to a charity of your choice. In Remembrance. 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.". "The decanter always had to be full," Dowling says. GECS offers business development, bid proposal writing training, and resume preparation services for individuals seeking employment with the Federal Government, and provides knowledge management services to assist businesses with succession planning. . 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. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. He was 91. "Carter, he always did what the other two did," says Casey. . 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. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. Marvin LaVerne Katz, 83, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Dallas. That's what we call a success story. 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. 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. 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. Cafritz started by investing in real estate, and was always ready to make a prescient purchase, but his true passion was construction. By the time of her death, however, Calvin was still the son closest to his mother. He was preceded in death by his brother Carter Cafritz. The house was not so much well-tended as beautifully preserved, arrested in time; and the party duplicated the past in every anachronistic detail. 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. "She felt that was the end, when she couldn't function socially.". He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. 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. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. . Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. All are multimillionaires, and Conrad Cafritz, by most accounts the prime instigator of the lawsuit, has spun his inheritance from his father into a vast personal fortune of at minimum $100 million. "Those were her orders: The Scotch should never be let go beneath the neck of the decanter. 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. Morris grew up working in the store, stalking the Maine Avenue wharf for the freshest fish sold there and learning to love the adolescent city he saw around him. His father, Morris, established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and . 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." 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. But it was a heady enough wine to call out 300 guests, and the ghosts of many more who had preceded them. 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. Senator Barry Goldwater . To plant trees in memory, please visit the. 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Today, Calvin is foundation chairman. 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. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. Calvin Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction in 1947, pausing briefly to attend college and serve in the military. Named in the lawsuit, besides Calvin, is everyone to whom Gwendolyn Cafritz made a bequest, including her former servants and grandchildren, two nephews and an old escort. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. ", The Cafritzes slept in separate bedrooms, Morris rising at dawn to get to the office. 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. "Right at the moment he could be most charming, he does something to undercut it," says one friend. 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? 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. January 27, 2023. 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. 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. I just make speeches.". In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. She carried her isolation to her grave. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." All rights reserved. Of the three sons, Calvin seems to have had the best relationship with his mother. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. He is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz, chairman and CEO of Cafritz Interests, a real estate company. He was 91. If youre in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist. 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. The only thing worse might be to watch deals go on without him: Along with becoming chairman of the foundation, Calvin Cafritz has taken the helm of the old Cafritz Co., andis reportedly trying to bring it tonew life. "He got up at 5 or 5:30, and he wanted to show me what a hard-working man he 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. And other times she didn't. And it is over the foundation, established to memorialize the name and works of the Cafritz family, that the Cafritz family is now at war. The foundation also gave generously to support the recent GW Hillel building renovation, as well as to provide ongoing support to other civic-minded programs at GW. 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,. 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. Yet in Morris's absence, the family was anything but the tight-knit dynasty he had paved the way for. In 2001, the Cafritz Foundation gave $1 million toward the Cafritz Conference Center in the University Student Center. With such a ruling, the trust would pass to the three sons, as outlined in Morris's will. Conrad's strategy has been diversity. She appears every week on the WETA-TV arts show "Around Town." ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. Required fields are marked *. 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. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr Then there is the charitable legacy. 91. But he reached outside that circle when he finally married. To one interviewer she said that art was "the theme, you might say" of her life, "as in a Wagnerian opera." These two, according to the complaint by Carter and Conrad Cafritz, "exerted undue influence" in Gwendolyn's decision to leave her entire estate to the foundation, of which they are both trustees. 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. His father, one of Washington's leading commercial and residential builders from the early 1920's to the 1960's, distinguished himself as an outstanding civic leader known for generosity. 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. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. 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. But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. 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. Her hair was still a lacquered black, heavily dressed as always at the back of her head. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. 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 . He had emigrated from Russia as a boy with his family, which stopped briefly in New York before settling down to run a grocery store at 24th and P streets NW. 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. 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.". Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. 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. 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. "Maybe we try a little harder because our family name is well-known," he told a reporter in 1965. ", According to friends, her confidence was badly shaken when she was robbed at home in 1969 by gunmen who bound and beat her, stealing most of the spectacular jewelry Morris had given her. Carter appears something of a cipher even to old family associates. Mr. Cafritz was married previously two times; his first wife was Enid Cafritz and his second wife was Joyce Smith. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. But Carter and Conrad Cafritz are not named in their mother's will. 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. In any case, he was at least 20 years older than his bride when they married in 1929. Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. 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.. 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. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. "I'm sure part of it was to show Herb Miller he was serious.". All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. Gwendolyn Cafritz died of cancer last November. 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. Calvin Cafritz Death - Calvin Cafritz, a real estate developer, businessman, and philanthropist in the District of Columbia, passed away on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He also is a director. 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 for years the president of the Jewish Community Center and donated the land for its first headquarters on Q Street NW. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. Cafritz was a tireless promoter of the city. She was 78 years old. 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. But he's much different from his father, in a lot of ways. "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. They're more like the French salons.". (Conrad and Peggy were both involved in Barry's first election campaign, and Peggy is the godmother of Barry's son, Christopher.) You have funeral questions, we have answers. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. 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. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died . 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. He was 91. "He's creative, he's smart, also ambitious, like his father. 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. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing 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. He was an excellent listener and always got both the big picture and important details by asking insightful questions. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. In 1971, he resigned from the company amid reports of conflict with his mother, and by the time she wrote a 1977 will, all three sons, including Calvin, had been dealt out of any inheritance. 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. In the '70s she became a near-recluse. 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 addition to his loving family, he leaves behind a long-time member of the family household, Lilian Punzalan, and countless admiring friends. Calvin Cafritz, a successful businessman, was involved in real estate for more than fifty years. 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. ", Other documents filed in court indicate that the sons will argue their mother was incapacitated by alcoholism. Influence over the city's future -- no doubt. 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. "She wanted something, and she put up with a lot of {expletive}, and she got it. "Getting along with her," says one developer who knows the family, "was something none of them ever mastered. Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz were oil and water, a marriage forged out of surprisingly dissonant elements. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. He was 91 years of age. 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. 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. 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. Small grants went to 15 more Jewish charities, and the rest to such local charities as boys clubs and hospital funds. Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. "I used to call up the house and get her maid, and her maid would talk to me about her, and say that she was completely worn out and simply couldn't get up and get herself ready to go on the warpath," says socialite Polly Logan. 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. If she gave them an order, they took it lightly, because she liked to drink. So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. 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. Special Neighborhood Hang Out: Say Cheese! 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. recalls Raymond Carter, a former vice president of the Cafritz Co. "He always had a new job going. Click here for full story from WTOP and the Washington Business Journal. Cafritz died in 1964 of a heart attack. Ways to honor Calvin Cafritz's life and legacy. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. "She was good to me, and she was a good woman in my eyes," he says. There are hints too that he has social ambitions on Gwendolyn's scale, if not exactly of her type. That task was left to her closest relatives. Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". "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. For better or worse, he is the son who has tried to live out both their ambitions -- to build on a scale that will make an impact on the city, and to develop a persona that will make him an actor in the capital. 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. CAFRITZ James Edward Cafritz James Edward Cafritz of Bethesda, MD, passed away on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, at the age of 90. The suit was filed by the middle and youngest Cafritz sons, Carter, 53, and Conrad, 51. There are also real estate assets at Arlingtons 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, which is the former home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. "That what she wanted was pointless is not for us to judge.". The trust was established at the death of Morris Cafritz in June 1964 in the interests of saving estate taxes. 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 .

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