An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. 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. ", 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). Peggy Cooper Cafritz, grande dame of the Washington arts and education 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. Mr. Cafritz was married previously two times; his first wife was Enid Cafritz and his second wife was Joyce Smith. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. Here, still, was the art moderne house, nearly as startling in 1986 as it had been when Morris Cafritz built it for his young family almost 50 years earlier. Except for minor bequests to former employees and other family members, she also left to the foundation all of the property she owned outright. 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. (His first wife, Jennifer, has since married Laughlin Phillips, son of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips and president of the Phillips Collection.). ", Today, he still combats a version of that assumption, pithily summed up by one detractor in this way: "You don't have to be Albert Einstein to take money and make additional money in real estate." 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. "Those were her orders: The Scotch should never be let go beneath the neck of the decanter. There are no events scheduled. The same plain white damask draped the table, with plain white damask napkins tied around settings of her heavy Georg Jensen flatware. 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.. 1050 30th St. NW 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. 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. Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. 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. ", She kept up appearances even in the privacy of her home, where she drank Scotch from a decanter in the living room. Cafritz was a native and longtime resident of Washington, DC. 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. Gradually, as Gwendolyn took command of it, its character changed. 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. The house was not so much well-tended as beautifully preserved, arrested in time; and the party duplicated the past in every anachronistic detail. "He's creative, he's smart, also ambitious, like his father. 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. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . "She felt that was the end, when she couldn't function socially.". He never tired of committing himself to this mission, which only grew bigger with time. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. She retained the right to will awaythe remaining three-quarters, or $63 million, which sheleft to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. For another, he is said to alternate in seconds between a manic intensity and a mumbling diffidence. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. 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? "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. Write your message of sympathy today. In 2001, the Cafritz Foundation gave $1 million toward the Cafritz Conference Center in the University Student Center. And even then, there was always fussing. CALVIN FRITZ OBITUARY Wyoming - Calvin "Roger" Fritz, 69, of Wyoming, passed away at 5:29 p.m. Friday, December 24, 2021 at his home. 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 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. . The Cromwell, Aberdeen, Fernbrook, Rosedale, Isleworth, Traymore and Zellwood are in sorry shape today, but still stand as a modest monument to the name C-A-F-R-I-T-Z. a medically-induced . And other times she didn't. "Getting along with her," says one developer who knows the family, "was something none of them ever mastered. From the others he solicited their names, bending to murmur prompts into the ear of the star. 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. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist has died Ridgewell's had produced, out of retirement, the same waiter who had announced the guests eight years before. "Jews in general just didn't figure. She set aside bequests for two nephews ($35,000 each); a former company employee, Dorothy Casey ($10,000); and four former servants (two bequests of $50,000 and two of $25,000). 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 . 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. Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. Mr. 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. Under an earlier agreement between Gwendolyn and her sons, she gave up her power to "appoint" one-quarter of the trust, meaning that $21 million -- or $7 million each -- would automatically go to her sons upon her death. The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. Among the guests that June evening were her three sons, Calvin, Carter and Conrad. Calvin R Cafritz, (202) 223-3100, 1642 29th St NW, Washington, DC After Morris Cafritz died, his close associate Martin Atlas became executive vice president of the company, and vice president and treasurer of the Cafritz Foundation, while Gwendolyn Cafritz ultimately became president of both. Then there is the charitable legacy. 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. 2 SONS CONTEST $84 MILLION CAFRITZ WILL - The Washington Post Recognizably brothers, the youngest of them nearing his fifties, they were a striking presence at the party. 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. ", Conrad Cafritz is, in a word fondly used by friends, weird. 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. Her two younger sons have also filed a separate petition that pursues only the marital trust. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. He was 91. ", Other documents filed in court indicate that the sons will argue their mother was incapacitated by alcoholism. 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. Conrad's strategy has been diversity. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. He began with houses, ultimately building about 10,000 homes in the Washington area. ", The Cafritzes slept in separate bedrooms, Morris rising at dawn to get to the office. She was multilingual and had studied art history at the University of Budapest. 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. Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. Unless you are experienced as an estate executor, you probably should hire an attorney. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. 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 . Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies She was a member of Main Street Church of Christ in Monticello, AR. "I just thought she maybe had had enough of running around, and she was maybe going to stay in a while. 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. "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. 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. He started by buying -- for $700,000, in 1922 -- the equivalent of 90 city blocks in Petworth, including the Columbia Golf Club, and ultimately built 3,000 houses there. She carried her isolation to her grave. That's why her final victory rather delighted me. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. 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.". We will miss his gracious and generous presence.. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Jane Lipton Cafritz, a distinguished Washington lawyer, whom he married on June 1, 2000. ", She gave only two parties in the last 15 years of her life -- one in 1978, her first in five years, and the final party in 1986. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. January 2023 - Page 189 - obituaries death Once grown, the sons established limited, perfunctory contacts with their mother. Conrad has six children -- three adopted sons, who were Jennifer's by a first marriage; two daughters with Jennifer; and, with Peggy, 5-year-old Zachary. "He just wanted to build, build, build, build!" Marvin Katz Obituary - Richardson, TX - Dignity Memorial For now, the house is tended by at least two servants, who are listed in court documents as living there, and the grass is beautifully clipped, the pachysandra well-tended. Real estate was more than mortgages and refi nancing in the Cafritzian heyday; it was empire building . Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. Cafritz died in 1964 of a heart attack. His commitment to causes and institutions extended beyond writing checks to giving time and energy. Of the three sons, Calvin seems to have had the best relationship with his mother. 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. "I'm sure part of it was to show Herb Miller he was serious.". Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. Most of the band's song titles are too profane for citation in mainstream reviews (or newspaper magazines such as this); one, a song that would surely have outraged the vocalist/guitarist's grandparents, is titled "You Look Like a Jew.". To Martin Atlas, she left $50,000 and a Chagall painting. . We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. In the past two decades Washington has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, building new fortunes, multiplying old ones, constantly attracting new players from other cities. 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. You have funeral questions, we have answers. Marvin LaVerne Katz, 83, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Dallas. Yet he uncomplainingly supported all of Gwendolyn's efforts, and was said to adore his colorful bride. Services Guestbook Condolences. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. In Washington, D.C., when Irene Bloch's husband dies, a character says, "We should build him a monument, and dedicate it to the Unknown Husband. There is no photo or video of Calvin Cafritz.Be the first to share a memory to pay tribute. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. Michael J. Dowling, who became the Cafritzes' butler in the early '60s, describes a tragically common decline. [2] He is buried in the Washington Hebrew Congregation Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Philanthropy [ edit] But he's much different from his father, in a lot of ways. 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.