He was 91. Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. Of the three sons, Calvin seems to have had the best relationship with his mother. 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. So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. 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. Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. 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. Irene Bloch, as she is called, is a wealthy department store owner's wife who mounts a relentless campaign for acceptance in Washington society. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the. At the time the lawsuit was filed, family sources told The Washington Post that the marital trust was worth $84 million. He was 91. 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. 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. 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. The control of so much money, especially in a city with limited corporate philanthropy, brings enormous power. Mr. 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. 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. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to a charity of your choice. Rogers had served as her personal attorney since her husband, Washington real estate magnate Morris Cafritz, died in 1964. 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. 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. 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. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." In July 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation and in the last six months became Chairman Emeritus. Following the death of his father, Calvin became president of The Cafritz Co., Cafritz Construction Co. and Ambassador, Inc. in 1964. . He was 91 years of age. With that philosophy he built a substantial reputation for philanthropy. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . 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. To one interviewer she said that art was "the theme, you might say" of her life, "as in a Wagnerian opera." "Very sort of philosophic, sort of honorable." He is also survived by his three children, Elliot Cafritz (Lauren), Anthony Cafritz (Pearl), and Elizabeth Peltekian(Viken); five grandchildren, Sam, Alexander, Seb, Aram, and Van; three stepchildren, Olivia Rubenstein, Irina Rubenstein, and James Speyer; and two step-grandchildren Evan and MJSpeyer. That's what we call a success story. Calvin Cafritz, a native and longtime resident of Washington, DC, was born March 29, 1931, as the eldest son of Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz. Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. 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. 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. [2] He is buried in the Washington Hebrew Congregation Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Philanthropy [ edit] A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. Yet he uncomplainingly supported all of Gwendolyn's efforts, and was said to adore his colorful bride. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. Then there is the charitable legacy. 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. The trust was established at the death of Morris Cafritz in June 1964 in the interests of saving estate taxes. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). They keep china and glassware sufficient to serve hundreds. Rachel was a daughter of the late Abraham and Chierney Yarowsky. A document filed in probate court says an initial inventory of her own property exceeded $90 million; however, inventories filed with her will account only for a little more than $80 million. 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. Cafritz started by investing in real estate, and was always ready to make a prescient purchase, but his true passion was construction. 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. 5.8K. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. 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. Influence over the city's future -- no doubt. . All rights reserved. "He's always very, very protective of the Cafritz name, as if it were his own. 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. The Cafritz Foundation was one of the biggest in the D.C. area, with over $400 million in assets and around $65 million in annual revenue and expenses, according to The Washington Business Journal. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. There are, superficially, great similarities among the three brothers, who all share their mother's dark coloring. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. ", Conrad Cafritz is, in a word fondly used by friends, weird. 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. Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. All three had become local real estate developers, successful, if less spectacular, emulators of their father. Your email address will not be published. David Kessler's top 4 tips for dealing with holiday grief. But like all wills, the one now known in probate court as 3035-88 offers more than one legacy, and thus more than one motive. 2017-2023 Tribute Archive. Morris was a famously frugal man who used to tell friends he couldn't afford to rent office space in the best of his buildings, and his major vanity, beyond lying about his age, appears to have been combing his pomaded hair over a bald spot at the back. But the fourth square in the plot remains empty; Gwendolyn Cafritz was memorialized in a Presbyterian church and had herself buried far north in Rockville's Parklawn Cemetery, among strangers. He was for years the president of the Jewish Community Center and donated the land for its first headquarters on Q Street NW. 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 . At seated dinners for 22, she entertained ambassadors and justices, senators and Cabinet secretaries. There is no photo or video of Calvin Cafritz.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. Gwendolyn Cafritz died of cancer last November. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. 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 . When he died, his estate was the largest ever probated in the District of Columbia. Operating under his own banner, Calvin Cafritz Enterprises, he has built both residential and commercial buildings in D.C. and Virginia. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. 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. To Calvin Cafritz, she left the symbolic role of family chief, Morris Cafritz'ssuccessor in a world of primogeniture. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. "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. All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. "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. Through a number of different companies, he both invests in and develops all kinds of properties -- commercial, residential, retail and even industrial. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. (91 years old). They have helped us to be innovative and to expand. 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. Mr. Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". "Jews in general just didn't figure. What do the younger sons of the celebrated Washington hostess hope to gain by waging legal war over their mother's will? 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. Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. He was 91. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. 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. 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. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. He is a leading supporter of the Global India Fund, and the Ukapav Indian-American Scholarship Foundation. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies at 91. bizjournals.com - Michael Neibauer 20h. "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. But he's much different from his father, in a lot of ways. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . There are no events at this time. Site design by, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation. 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. Special Neighborhood Hang Out: Say Cheese! Ways to honor Calvin Cafritz's life and legacy. 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. 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. The Morris and. 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. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. 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. 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). His class yearbook is littered with references to his family's money; in a list at the back of "most likely" candidates, the last two entries read, "Most Likely to Succeed: Johnson, Clague," and "Doesn't Have To: Cafritz. 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. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. 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.". He also has three children, five grandchildren and three stepchildren. . ", 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. It is intriguing to imagine what different directions Conrad Cafritz might urge -- and how much they would draw from the activism of his wife, who has likely pondered what difference the Cafritz endowment might make to her lifelong campaign to wrest the arts from Washington's white upper classes. 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. 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. Md.-based government contractor relocates headquarters to Fairfax Co. Montgomery County, MD Files Lawsuit Against McKinsey and Company, Inc. for Companys Role in Creating Opioid Epidemic, GSA Seeks Commercial Procurement Data Solution. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. To plant trees in memory, please visit the. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. ", Gwendolyn reportedly raised her children according to the dictates of her European background -- under the aegis of servants, to be seen and not heard. It took lawyers and IRS agents 4 years to settle the estate, which was valued in 1968 at $66 million. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. In the '70s she became a near-recluse. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. 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. Mr. Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction Company in 1947. To Edward R. Murrow, in a 1956 interview, she said that to speak of Washington cocktail parties was "unfair to Washington. He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. 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.". He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. There are no events scheduled. 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. 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 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. He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. ", Conrad and Carter Cafritz have chosen instead the purgatory of probate court, where their complaints suggest less lovely memories. "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. Then, in 1988, came the announcement that Conrad Cafritz, with Japanese partners, had bought Washington Harbour, the glitzy development below K Street in Georgetown that had been troubled from its opening; the original developer of Washington Harbour was Western. 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.