Then there is the foundation itself, with its powerful endowment for the city. The Morris and. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. The D.C. community is better for his engagement and we will miss him terribly.. "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. 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. 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. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. Since 1989, Cafritz led the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable organization named for his parents. Between 1925 and 1941, Cafritz built more than 85 apartment houses, including 15 large luxury buildings, such as the Majestic and the Hightowers on 16th Street NW and the Westchester on Cathedral Avenue NW. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. Old press notices, written in the uncritical fashion of the day, recount her summers in Monte Carlo; her typical day in Washington (beginning with a ride in her limousine -- license number 2301, to match her address -- to the Supreme Court or the Capitol, to take in a decision or an interesting hearing); her winter trips to Palm Beach; her shopping trips in Paris; her ladies lunches at the Mayflower Hotel. That's why her final victory rather delighted me. In 2021 alone, the foundation awarded some 430 grants to 413 nonprofits. ", She kept up appearances even in the privacy of her home, where she drank Scotch from a decanter in the living room. Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." The house was not so much well-tended as beautifully preserved, arrested in time; and the party duplicated the past in every anachronistic detail. His mother, Gwendolyn, one of Washington's leading hostesses in the post-World War II years, was President of the Foundation from 1964 to 1988. 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. 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. Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. . In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. This suit asks the court to overturn her will, after which, under D.C. law, her property would be divided among her sons. Michael J. Dowling, who became the Cafritzes' butler in the early '60s, describes a tragically common decline. "She felt that was the end, when she couldn't function socially.". All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. 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. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. 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. 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. But Carter and Conrad Cafritz are not named in their mother's will. "Carter, he always did what the other two did," says Casey. Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. (Conrad and Peggy were both involved in Barry's first election campaign, and Peggy is the godmother of Barry's son, Christopher.) "Conrad was persistent as hell in getting that project," says one person familiar with Conrad's business. The house on Foxhall Road, completed in 1938, was explicitly designed to fulfill that ambition. 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. "Right at the moment he could be most charming, he does something to undercut it," says one friend. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. For another, he is said to alternate in seconds between a manic intensity and a mumbling diffidence. Mr. Cafritz is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . 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. 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. Money -- to be sure. 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. 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. Recognizably brothers, the youngest of them nearing his fifties, they were a striking presence at the party. 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. 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. To slip out of the speedy traffic on Foxhall Road into the half-circle driveway was to slip back in time. 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 . 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. 2017-2023 Tribute Archive. "Those were her orders: The Scotch should never be let go beneath the neck of the decanter. Among the guests that June evening were her three sons, Calvin, Carter and Conrad. 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. Finally, there is an emotional legacy to be earned -- or perhaps shed. To Calvin Cafritz, she left the symbolic role of family chief, Morris Cafritz'ssuccessor in a world of primogeniture. There are, superficially, great similarities among the three brothers, who all share their mother's dark coloring. A memorial service will be held at a later date. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. In Remembrance. 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. Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. When he died, his estate was the largest ever probated in the District of Columbia. Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. In 2001, the Cafritz Foundation gave $1 million toward the Cafritz Conference Center in the University Student Center. They have helped us to be innovative and to expand. Except for minor bequests to former employees and other family members, she also left to the foundation all of the property she owned outright. To one interviewer she said that art was "the theme, you might say" of her life, "as in a Wagnerian opera." What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? 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. Her skin had an unhealthy, pouchy pallor; extending an uncertain hand, she had the air of a dreamer deploying remembered charms. Asked in 1954 why all her sons bore two-syllable names beginning with "C," she replied, "Morris names all children, horses, dogs, apartment houses and everything around here. He was the eldest son of real estate titan Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn. But its true targets are two longtime advisers who are executors of her estate: Martin Atlas, for decades the closest business associate of both Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, and William P. Rogers, the former attorney general and secretary of state who was Gwendolyn's personal attorney. Cafritz was a tireless promoter of the city. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. And Gwendolyn's estate is not, in the end, the only -- or even the main thing -- at stake. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. Cafritzs passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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 is a poignant moment in Gwendolyn's 1956 interview with Murrow when she points out a portrait of herself that hangs on the wall. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. There are no events at this time. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. Your email address will not be published. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. It is a secretive organization: The foundation would answer no questions for this article. 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. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr She was multilingual and had studied art history at the University of Budapest. ", 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. . 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. In his later years he established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. 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. (91 years old). To Martin Atlas, she left $50,000 and a Chagall painting. CAFRITZ James Edward Cafritz James Edward Cafritz of Bethesda, MD, passed away on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, at the age of 90. And {Gwendolyn} was just considered comical, and there were a lot of jokes about her. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. That task was left to her closest relatives. "He took me into the kitchen and showed me how the cook would leave coffee for him in the morning," remembers the friend. "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. Today, Calvin is foundation chairman. 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. "I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. 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 . 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. You have funeral questions, we have answers. "With so-called friends all around her, she was a very lonely woman," says Dowling. He was for years the president of the Jewish Community Center and donated the land for its first headquarters on Q Street NW. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. Washington, DC 20007 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. Conrad's strategy has been diversity. ", The Cafritzes slept in separate bedrooms, Morris rising at dawn to get to the office. 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. "Jews in general just didn't figure. 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. And other times she didn't.

. "Decedent's condition deteriorated after the death of her husband in 1964 and grew worse in the following years. In 2021 alone some 430 grants were given to 413 nonprofits of all sizes, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Washington National Opera (through the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera program), the Phillips Collection, the National Gallery of Art, and countless colleges, universities,and schools throughout the DC area. 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. 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 [email protected] Relatives Calvin Cafritz Jane Cafritz Current address 1642 29th St NW, Washington, DC, 20007-2901 See more results for Calvin Cafritz Of the three Cafritz sons, says restaurateur Herb White, "Conrad seems to be the one who has something to prove to himself.". There is no photo or video of Calvin Cafritz.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. 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. All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. 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. 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. including, but not limited to, any facilities located in Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach, Florida; or Monte Carlo, Monaco." He was 91. 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. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. 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. Baron and Baroness Constantine Stackelberg . But he believes her drinking was a source of family discord. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. All Rights Reserved. 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. He served in these roles until 2022, when Jane Lipton Cafritz, his wife, was elected Board Chair and President and CEO. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. Calvin H. Frazier (February 16, 1915 - September 23, 1972) was an American Detroit blues and country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". Her statements in the press, even the adoring press of yore, suggest at the least a daunting mother. To those who thronged to the parties, the children were rarely in evidence. 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. She was born January 30, 1936 in Kennett, MO to the late David Richard Roberts and Betty Burbank Roberts. 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. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. It's surprising how much a musical selection can affect mourning. 1050 30th St. NW Because Gwendolyn's estate has not been probated, its value is hard to establish. 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. 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. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. 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. Ridgewell's had produced, out of retirement, the same waiter who had announced the guests eight years before. 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. "The boys used to make a joke of their mother. The mission of the foundation is improving the quality of life for all Washington, D.C., metropolitan-area residents, Boerstling said. "She was a classic case," summarizes Vidal. "She wanted something, and she put up with a lot of {expletive}, and she got it. But it was hard to remember, here, the titanic social ambition that had made her what she was. "That what she wanted was pointless is not for us to judge.". Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. 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. She was 78 years old. If you know of an upcoming event for Calvin Cafritz, please add one. Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. She could no longer make an entrance, of course. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. 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. Only between the lines or in conversations with old friends can one make out how nakedly she wore her ambitions, and how hard she was working to measure up.