The strange paradox of her marriage was that Morris's money enabled her to carry out her lavish social dreams, while the family's being Jewish also placed limits on her chances of realizing them. Morris Cafritz incorporated the foundation in 1948 to give money to Washington-area charities, and when he died 16 years later, he left it half his estate, mostly as stock in dozens of closely held corporations; as the new majority owner of most of these companies, and with Gwendolyn owning most of the rest, the foundation became in essence the owner of the Cafritz Co., its subsidiaries and its assets. But public records show that, like any organization privately controlled by a very small number of people, it is very susceptible to change by a determined leader. 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. We hoped to let the public know about these outstanding individuals and to send a message to other excellent government employees that their dedication and considerable accomplishments are valued." At the same time, he and Tompkins had the foresight to buy the land now known as Pentagon City. Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? 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. 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. ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. "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. 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 also made bequests of $100,000 each to 10 of her 13 grandchildren -- excluding the children Conrad adopted, to whom he has remained a committed father. Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. Of the three sons, Calvin seems to have had the best relationship with his mother. To Calvin Cafritz, she left the symbolic role of family chief, Morris Cafritz'ssuccessor in a world of primogeniture. 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. 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. Among the guests that June evening were her three sons, Calvin, Carter and Conrad. Despite leaving a fragmented recording history, both as a singer and guitarist, Frazier was an associate of Robert Johnson, and recorded alongside Johnny Shines, Sampson Pittman, T.J. Fowler, Alberta Adams, Jimmy Milner, Baby Boy Warren, Boogie Woogie . She carried her isolation to her grave. 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. 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. 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. She retained the right to will awaythe remaining three-quarters, or $63 million, which sheleft to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. "Conrad was persistent as hell in getting that project," says one person familiar with Conrad's business. Find Calvin Cafritz obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com Cafritz Family Obituaries | Cafritz Last Name Obits His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. 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. If she gave them an order, they took it lightly, because she liked to drink. There are no events scheduled. "She was a classic case," summarizes Vidal. "The decanter always had to be full," Dowling says. Through a number of different companies, he both invests in and develops all kinds of properties -- commercial, residential, retail and even industrial. 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. Special Neighborhood Hang Out: Say Cheese! "Maybe we try a little harder because our family name is well-known," he told a reporter in 1965. But maybe they just don't want Gwen Cafritz to have the last word. 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. 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. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). 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. 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.". ", Gwendolyn reportedly raised her children according to the dictates of her European background -- under the aegis of servants, to be seen and not heard. Decedent lacked sufficient capacity to, and did not, dispose of her property with judgment and understanding, considering the nature, character and extent of her estate.". ", High culture was one of her chosen routes to acceptance. He was 91. The mission of the foundation is improving the quality of life for all Washington, D.C., metropolitan-area residents, Boerstling said. For him, philanthropy required partnerships that are broad, diverse, and extensive. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . ", 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). 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. The holdings in downtown Washington include buildings in the 1700 and 1800 blocks of K Street and a parking lot at 12th and K; buildings in the 1300 and 1600 blocks of L Street; property in the 1600, 1700 and 1800 blocks of I Street. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. 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. Influence over the city's future -- no doubt. In 1971, Mr. Cafritz resigned to form Calvin Cafritz Enterprises, with investments in aviation, communications, and Washington area real estate. 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. It took lawyers and IRS agents 4 years to settle the estate, which was valued in 1968 at $66 million. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. 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. There are hints too that he has social ambitions on Gwendolyn's scale, if not exactly of her type.

. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. The Cafritz Foundation is also responsible for developing Art Place at Fort Totten, a huge mixed-use project in the Northeast D.C. area. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. March 29, 1931 - Calvin Cafritz - Rockville, Maryland , Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky 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. In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. He was the eldest son of real estate titan Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn. 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. Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. Obituary. Your email address will not be published. But it has that air of a property just turning past ripeness, toward seed. Roger was born on September 30, 1952 in Toulon, the son. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. Morris Cafritz - Wikipedia You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. 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 . 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. She was multilingual and had studied art history at the University of Budapest. . So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. From the others he solicited their names, bending to murmur prompts into the ear of the star. In 2021 alone, the foundation awarded some 430 grants to 413 nonprofits. Since 1989, Cafritz led the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable organization named for his parents. At the least, then, Gwendolyn's will disposes of more than $140 million. 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. (202) 338-4833, Georgetown Media Group. She was 78 years old. 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. He was 91. There are also real estate assets at Arlingtons 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, which is the former home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Each is in his second marriage; each is in some way involved in the arts. When Morris Cafritz died in 1964, his estate was worth $66 million, mostly in the form of stock in dozens of closely held corporations he had established to manage his real estate. All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. Home In the '70s she became a near-recluse. A memorial service will be held at a later date. 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. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. . 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. Yet in Morris's absence, the family was anything but the tight-knit dynasty he had paved the way for. 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW She has pressured the Smithsonian to increase the number of minorities in high-ranking positions and has been arrested outside the South African Embassy as a leader of Mother's Day protests there. But he reached outside that circle when he finally married. Remembering Calvin Cafritz - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Carter appears something of a cipher even to old family associates. There are no events at this time. 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. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. 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. With such a ruling, the trust would pass to the three sons, as outlined in Morris's will. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Their differences were, in fact, a part of their legend, for they were one of the earliest families to bring together the two cities on the Potomac: On the one hand was the ethereal world of social and political Washington -- her world, which venerated either good birth or a seat in the Senate; on the other hand was his world, the corporeal city of sewers and streets and buildings and real citizens, men and women who grew up above grocery stores the way Morris Cafritz had. 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. Of the three Cafritz sons, says restaurateur Herb White, "Conrad seems to be the one who has something to prove to himself.". . The family observed Jewish holidays, and the sons attended religious school at Washington Hebrew Congregation on weekends. 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. "That what she wanted was pointless is not for us to judge.". All of their lives, the Cafritz boys have been aware of their status as the sons of Morris and Gwendolyn. They're more like the French salons.". 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. 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. Gwen Cafritz and her chief rival, Perle Mesta, were in fact the first of a new breed -- celebrity hostesses who openly courted the press and saw no shame in self-promotion. "He just wanted to build, build, build, build!" 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 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. 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. Mr. 1050 30th St. NW 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. He resigned seven years later to form Cafritz Enterprises. "When I heard about it, I wrote Conrad and told him I thought it was a horrible thing he and his brother were doing to his mother," says Dorothy L. Casey, a retired secretary who worked for the Cafritz Co. for decades, reflecting a widespread tendency to speak of Carter as his brother's satellite. Recognizably brothers, the youngest of them nearing his fifties, they were a striking presence at the party. 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. But it was a heady enough wine to call out 300 guests, and the ghosts of many more who had preceded them. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist has died 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. He was 91. 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. "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. I just make speeches.". January 27, 2023. Rachel M. Ratowsky, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Senator Barry Goldwater . He was 91 years of age. At the time the lawsuit was filed, family sources told The Washington Post that the marital trust was worth $84 million. Calvin Cafritz and the Cafritz Foundation have been part of the GW Honey Nashman Center from its earliest roots in the Office of Community Service and the Neighbors Project in the 1990s through to the present, said Amy Cohen, executive director of the center. Calvin Fritz Obituary (1952 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers Ways to honor Calvin Cafritz's life and legacy. Published by The Washington Post on Jan. 22, 2023. 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. "I think it has the clean linear design of a Botticelli, and the elegance of an English portrait," she burbles, in her faintly accented great-lady voice, "and that's the way I would like my children to remember me. 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. 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. They have helped us to be innovative and to expand. "He's always very, very protective of the Cafritz name, as if it were his own. 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. 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. Mr. Cafritz has been an exemplary advocate for excellence in government and nonprofits in D.C., and the foundation has been a force for community self-efficacy. 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. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. 91. 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. Cafritzs passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. In Remembrance. 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.". Remembering Calvin Cafritz - Meyer Foundation The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. 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. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. "She wanted something, and she put up with a lot of {expletive}, and she got it. He also is a director. 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. "Jews in general just didn't figure. D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died . Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. 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. ", Conrad Cafritz is, in a word fondly used by friends, weird. She was born January 30, 1936 in Kennett, MO to the late David Richard Roberts and Betty Burbank Roberts. The Cafritz Foundation is also a longtime supporter of GWs Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. 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. Mr. Cafritz said that the awards are designed to "shine a light on the contributions of extraordinary government employees. Because Gwendolyn's estate has not been probated, its value is hard to establish. "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. 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. Dean Liesl Riddle of the GW College of Professional Studies (CPS), where GW CEPL has been housed since 2005, said, Our college was launched to make an economic and social impact through innovative professional programs that cultivate talent for employers and propel students careers forward.