Money -- to be sure. . 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. 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. "He wasn't overly enthused about it, but those were her wishes, and he sort of enjoyed it in a quiet way. 'Their Financial Needs Are Adequately Provided For'. "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. There are no events at this time. 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. 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. Click here for full story from WTOP and the Washington Business Journal. He was an excellent listener and always got both the big picture and important details by asking insightful questions. 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. Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. "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. including, but not limited to, any facilities located in Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach, Florida; or Monte Carlo, Monaco." 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. 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. ", High culture was one of her chosen routes to acceptance. If she gave them an order, they took it lightly, because she liked to drink. 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. He is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz, chairman and CEO of Cafritz Interests, a real estate company. 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. To those who thronged to the parties, the children were rarely in evidence. But in the end, her siege of Washington society outlasted most of those limits. Some observers speculate that Conrad, hardheaded real estate man that he is, simply wants some say in the disposition of the real estate owned -- in many cases, co-owned -- by the foundation and Gwendolyn's estate. He was 91. Was believed to be 102. 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. 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. Read more on bizjournals.com. "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. Throughout the '40s and '50s it was her custom to give a large cocktail reception each spring, and to mark the opening of every fall season with a party honoring the start of the Supreme Court term. 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. In the 1400 block of Spring Road NW is a row of seven almost identical walk-up apartment buildings. You have funeral questions, we have answers. It has been variously reviewed as "one of the more important bands to emerge from the new head-slamming school of American guitar/noise bands" and "the gnarliest, most scuzzed out molotov to hit the streets since the heady days of Teenage Jesus and The Jerks." Expand the Memories and Condolences form. "Jews in general just didn't figure. 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. "I just thought she maybe had had enough of running around, and she was maybe going to stay in a while. Then there is the charitable legacy. But maybe they just don't want Gwen Cafritz to have the last word. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. He died on Thursday, Jan. 12, at age 91. We will miss his gracious and generous presence.. He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. . And in the two decades of her advocacy, she has established a high profile -- and raised a lot of hackles among the old guard that runs most of the city's major cultural institutions. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. Funeral arrangement under the care ofSAGEL BLOOMFIELD DANZANSKY GOLDBERG FUNERAL CARE INC. By the time of her death, however, Calvin was still the son closest to his mother. 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. "I know Atlas hates publicity like poison," says Raymond Carter, a former Cafritz Co. vice president. Ways to honor Calvin Cafritz's life and legacy. "Getting along with her," says one developer who knows the family, "was something none of them ever mastered. Cafritz died in 1964 of a heart attack. Vidal wrote, "Irene's evening dress was much too vivid, too personal, too fashionable for the calculated dowdiness" of a dinner in old-line Washington. Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. The control of so much money, especially in a city with limited corporate philanthropy, brings enormous power. 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. 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. "She was a classic case," summarizes Vidal. 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. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. 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. Cafritzs 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, his obituary reads. Small grants went to 15 more Jewish charities, and the rest to such local charities as boys clubs and hospital funds. "Old Washington was very antisemitic, as you know," continues Vidal, whose childhood here as the stepson of lawyer and investor Hugh D. Auchincloss and the grandson of Oklahoma Sen. Thomas Gore gave him an intimate education in Washington society. ", Other documents filed in court indicate that the sons will argue their mother was incapacitated by alcoholism. Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." Kateryna Pyatybratova directs the centers Cafritz Awards program. 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 he believes her drinking was a source of family discord. There are also real estate assets at Arlingtons 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, which is the former home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. 1050 30th St. NW ", Her drinking got out of control, he agrees, shortly after Morris Cafritz's sudden death of a heart attack in 1964. There is still a sign directing deliveries to the back of the house, as if tradesmen were still streaming up to the front door to importune the lady of the house, and Ridgewell's were due at any moment with more shrimp and cocktail sauce. 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. Rachel was a daughter of the late Abraham and Chierney Yarowsky. She was 78 years old. 2017-2023 Tribute Archive. "There were moments when you wanted to go around and have everybody wear not just a name tag, but a bio,"says their good friend Margaret Lenzner. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". 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. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall. As time went on, she lost complete control, and she had to drink more. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. 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. 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,. Michael J. Dowling, who became the Cafritzes' butler in the early '60s, describes a tragically common decline. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. 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. D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died . 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. 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. She had not given a party for eight years, and even then, she had been memorializing the past; the real tradition, the old wine being decanted on this lambent June evening, had been decades in storage. He may sometimes have yearned for recognition: One night, after one of the glamorous dinners, he drew a friend of Gwendolyn's away from the dining room and into the kitchen. 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. 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. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. Perhaps the most remarkable member of this third generation is his daughter Julia, who dropped out of Brown University four years ago with a classmate to found a band named Pussy Galore. Mr. Cafritz is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz. 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. Special Neighborhood Hang Out: Say Cheese! Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love. With that philosophy he built a substantial reputation for philanthropy. 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. Cafritz's passing was confirmed by the charitable organization named after Morris and his wife, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. To plant trees in memory, please visit the. 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. Morris grew up working in the store, stalking the Maine Avenue wharf for the freshest fish sold there and learning to love the adolescent city he saw around him. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. The most famous of these was the Cafritz Building, at 1625 I; ballyhooed in 1950 as the first "park-at-your-desk" building, it had ramps rising 10 stories at the building's core. There are, superficially, great similarities among the three brothers, who all share their mother's dark coloring. "The decanter always had to be full," Dowling says. Cardiac Arrest.Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time, Over the last few decades, there have been some shocking and untimely deaths of few celebrities, Celebrity deaths in 2022: Remembering the famous faces we lost this year . . Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. 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 is, as always, unclear where her inborn quirkiness shaded into the effects of alcoholism; but many of her friends, in later years, simply came to think of her as "difficult" or "eccentric"; Almost everyone has a story about her forgetting their names, or making some sudden comment of shocking rudeness. Home If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the. The daughter of a Hungarian immunologist who had a role in devising the early Wasserman test to detect syphilis, Gwen Cafritz was the opposite of her husband. Marvin LaVerne Katz, 83, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Dallas. It's surprising how much a musical selection can affect mourning. 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. ", Gwendolyn reportedly raised her children according to the dictates of her European background -- under the aegis of servants, to be seen and not heard. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. The D.C. community is better for his engagement and we will miss him terribly.. At seated dinners for 22, she entertained ambassadors and justices, senators and Cabinet secretaries. They charge in their suit that Rogers and Atlas influenced her to leave all the property she controlled to the foundation. 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. James Edward Cafritz <p>James Edward Cafritz of Bethesda, MD, passed away on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, at the age of 90. . 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.

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calvin cafritz obituary