The suit was filed by the middle and youngest Cafritz sons, Carter, 53, and Conrad, 51. Among the guests that June evening were her three sons, Calvin, Carter and Conrad. 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. It is hard to imagine, in this competitive atmosphere, that a single person could have dominated the field as Morris Cafritz once did. Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. I just make speeches.". 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. Mr. Cafritz said that the awards are designed to "shine a light on the contributions of extraordinary government employees. To slip out of the speedy traffic on Foxhall Road into the half-circle driveway was to slip back in time. There were of course the grand exceptions like the Warburgs, and Walter Lippmann, and Arthur Krock . He served in these roles until 2022, when Jane Lipton Cafritz, his wife, was elected Board Chair and President and CEO. 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. ", Other documents filed in court indicate that the sons will argue their mother was incapacitated by alcoholism. But she had a disconcertingly self-serious way of advertising it. In 2001, the Cafritz Foundation gave $1 million toward the Cafritz Conference Center in the University Student Center. 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. Two and a half years later Gwendolyn Cafritz was dead of cancer, at 78, and the following summer -- three years after that final party -- her two younger sons filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to have her will overturned and her estate, worth at least $140 million, divided among her children. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. "Watch Washington Grow to One Million," he urged in newspaper ads of the '40s, a slogan he changed to "Watch Washington Grow to Two Million" after the 1950 census counted more than 1.4 million in the metropolitan area. Two and a half years later Gwendolyn Cafritz was dead of cancer, at 78, and the following summer -- three years after that final party -- her two younger sons filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to. 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. ", High culture was one of her chosen routes to acceptance. She carried her isolation to her grave. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. It is a secretive organization: The foundation would answer no questions for this article. In the '70s she became a near-recluse. 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. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. . Funeral arrangement under the care ofSAGEL BLOOMFIELD DANZANSKY GOLDBERG FUNERAL CARE INC. 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. This suit asks the court to overturn her will, after which, under D.C. law, her property would be divided among her sons. Calvin Cafritz Obituary 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. Jane Lipton Cafritz was elected in the second half of 2022 to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO. "With so-called friends all around her, she was a very lonely woman," says Dowling. 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. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. 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. 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. . Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. 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. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? 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. (202) 338-4833, Georgetown Media Group. So he began buying real estate speculatively, and in 1920 opened a real estate office on 15th Street NW. 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. The complaint further asserts that "when Decedent allegedly executed the purported Will and Codicil that have been offered for probate herein, Decedent lacked a sound and disposing mind and was not capable of executing a valid deed or contract. The foundation's board of trustees consisted of Gwendolyn Cafritz and the two men who would become her executors -- Atlas and William P. Rogers, her attorney. 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. There is, for example, the very palpable legacy of real estate developed by Morris Cafritz, including several lots and office buildings downtown. Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. 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. "Getting along with her," says one developer who knows the family, "was something none of them ever mastered. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing For another, he is said to alternate in seconds between a manic intensity and a mumbling diffidence. Today he shares office space and support staff with Conrad's growing interests, but for the most part pursues his own deals. "That black sense of humor asserts itself, or he'll do something outrageous." [2] He is buried in the Washington Hebrew Congregation Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Philanthropy [ edit] Add a photo or a video 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. 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. In 1929 he also built the since-demolished Ambassador Hotel, at 14th and K streets NW, where he and his family lived until 1938. 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). a medically-induced . Several friends read this changeability as part of a larger ambivalence about whether he wants to be an insider or a maverick, heir to a famous tradition or the rebel who subverts it. Calvin, 58, who finds himself a defendant in this lawsuit, is usually described as gentlemanly, methodical and reserved. But it has that air of a property just turning past ripeness, toward seed. 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. ", She kept up appearances even in the privacy of her home, where she drank Scotch from a decanter in the living room. Her statements in the press, even the adoring press of yore, suggest at the least a daunting mother. She was a member of Main Street Church of Christ in Monticello, AR. 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. 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. For one thing, he has a dark, avowedly cynical sense of humor. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. 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. All rights reserved. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. 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. Papers filed in court by his sons' lawyers say he was born in 1888; his gravestone says 1890, which would have made him only 14 when he started his business career. She appears every week on the WETA-TV arts show "Around Town." 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. 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. He also is a director. Through a number of different companies, he both invests in and develops all kinds of properties -- commercial, residential, retail and even industrial. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. And {Gwendolyn} was just considered comical, and there were a lot of jokes about her. Mr. Cafritz recognized and championed this work, and its success is a part of his inspiring legacy., Throughout the years, he gave feedback constructively and in a helpful manner, said Jim Robinson, executive director of GW CEPL. The house was not so much well-tended as beautifully preserved, arrested in time; and the party duplicated the past in every anachronistic detail. 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.". His father, Morris, established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and . "I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. To plant trees in memory, please visit the. Mr. Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction Company in 1947. 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 July 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation and in the last six months became Chairman Emeritus. The Cafritz Foundation is also a longtime supporter of GWs Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. 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. "Calvin is a very sweet, very nice person," says D.C. lawyer Max N. Berry. If you know of an upcoming event for Calvin Cafritz, please add one. He was 91. . 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 . "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. 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. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. 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. For him, philanthropy required partnerships that are broad, diverse, and extensive. 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,. At seated dinners for 22, she entertained ambassadors and justices, senators and Cabinet secretaries. Conrad's ex-wife, former D.C. School Board Chairwoman Peggy Cooper Cafritz, recently resurfaced after her art-filled home was destroyed in a fire last year. 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. Carter Cafritz, who sits on the board of WETA, began his career in partnership with Conrad, building apartments and town houses in and around the city. Rachel M. Ratowsky, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. "The decanter always had to be full," Dowling says. 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. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. She is survived by her daughter Jane Cafritz (Calvin) of Washington, DC, five grandchildren: James Speyer, Irina Rubenstein and . . Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. 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.". 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.". Calvin H. Frazier (February 16, 1915 - September 23, 1972) was an American Detroit blues and country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation is already, with its more than $220 million in assets, the largest source of private funds earmarked for the District of Columbia. Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. Rachel was a daughter of the late Abraham and Chierney Yarowsky. G Guest 4 hours ago Comment Share T The staff at Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care Inc a day ago We plant this tree as a living memorial to Calvin. He left it as follows: Half to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. She was forever trying to tell me some long story I could never make head or tail of. 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. . Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. In high school, for example, Conrad stood out even among his privileged classmates at St. Albans. 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. 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. CALVIN FRITZ OBITUARY Wyoming - Calvin "Roger" Fritz, 69, of Wyoming, passed away at 5:29 p.m. Friday, December 24, 2021 at his home. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it.

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