Betty Lou Roberts Colvin, age 84 of Warren, AR passed away November 5, 2020 at Chapel Woods Nursing Home in Warren, AR. "He took me into the kitchen and showed me how the cook would leave coffee for him in the morning," remembers the friend. Conrad's strange, and doesn't mind people thinking that he's strange; he kind of encourages it.". We hoped to let the public know about these outstanding individuals and to send a message to other excellent government employees that their dedication and considerable accomplishments are valued." Upon Morris Cafritz's death in 1964, he became president of the Cafritz Co.; and in the first will Gwendolyn wrote, in 1969, which included all three sons, she made Calvin an executor and left him the Foxhall Road house. As the hostess had asked, Ridgewell's Caterers heaped the silver platters and chafing dishes with the same filling, fusty food -- the whole poached salmon, the ham and turkey and carved tenderloin; none of the pastas or blackened seafood or grilled vegetables then in fashion. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. 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. 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. 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 . Yet Morris made little impression on Gwendolyn's social world, and she often went out or took vacations alone. 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. He was 91 years of age. Required fields are marked *. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to a charity of your choice. He was 91. Late last year, Calvins wife Jane was elected to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO and he was named chairman emeritus. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. Her hair was still a lacquered black, heavily dressed as always at the back of her head. 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. 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. In May, Jane Lipton Cafritz hosted a lunch that brought together a number of young opera singers and many of their supporters and admirers. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the. This is in alignment with GW efforts to benefit the local community., Cafritz was a leading force in the establishment of GWs Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL) in 1997, to help support the D.C. government just as it was coming out of receivership from the U.S. Congress. 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. 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. 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. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. An obituary is not available at this time for Calvin Cafritz. ", Interviews suggest the sons will not lack for evidence to support their argument. He served in these roles until 2022, when Jane Lipton Cafritz, his wife, was elected Board Chair and President and CEO. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, SAGEL BLOOMFIELD DANZANSKY GOLDBERG FUNERAL CARE INC. Another longtime beneficiary of Cafritz Foundation support has been The Textile Museum. 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. 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. 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. At the least, then, Gwendolyn's will disposes of more than $140 million. The "Cafritz" in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. 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.". 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. She was multilingual and had studied art history at the University of Budapest. 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. You have funeral questions, we have answers. . Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. ", 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). Published by The Washington Post on Jan. 22, 2023. Cafritzs encouragement has particularly strengthened the Washington-area communitys appreciation of textiles as a vital form of artistic expression and global cultural heritage.". The entire time, he fought with gloves off, publicly charging his rivals with bad faith. 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. 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. 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. 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. 91. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. March 29, 1931 - As time went on, she lost complete control, and she had to drink more. In July 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation and in the last six months became Chairman Emeritus. 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. At seated dinners for 22, she entertained ambassadors and justices, senators and Cabinet secretaries. He warmly greeted staff and fellow philanthropist alike, making no distinction between people. Read more on bizjournals.com. Cafritz was a native and longtime resident of Washington, DC. Marvin Katz was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dr. Donald LaVerne Katz and Lila Maxine Katz on December 12, 1935. 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. 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. This suit asks the court to overturn her will, after which, under D.C. law, her property would be divided among her sons. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love. There are hints too that he has social ambitions on Gwendolyn's scale, if not exactly of her type. 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. So if some of these nostalgic callers had once doubted or mocked her, with her grand house and her grand airs and her husband's enormous fortune, it was surely too late, in 1986, for any of these social acquaintances to want to shatter this fading legend. 1050 30th St. NW Gwendolyn Cafritz, a leading Washington hostess, died of cancer Tuesday at her home in the capital. . 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. a medically-induced . . ", While she cultivated the mighty, Morris looked closer to home, helping to found the Washington Community Chest, becoming an activist in local Jewish groups. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the charitable organization Calvin Cafritz had led since 1989, confirmed his passing and provided a copy of his obituary, which didnt disclose cause of death. Irene Bloch, as she is called, is a wealthy department store owner's wife who mounts a relentless campaign for acceptance in Washington society. The house on Foxhall Road, completed in 1938, was explicitly designed to fulfill that ambition. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. To plant trees in memory, please visit the. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Calvin Cafritz to show support. 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. He was 91 years of. There was no one she would not invite to dinner, sometimes calling the offices of Cabinet secretaries to ask for any day in the next year when the secretary would be free. ", 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. Services Guestbook Condolences. As he stood by her chair, he could name at a glance quite a few of the guests -- Chief Justice and Mrs. Warren Burger . 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 . "I just thought she maybe had had enough of running around, and she was maybe going to stay in a while. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. Calvin Cafritz, D.C. developer and head of the Cafritz Foundation, dies at 91. bizjournals.com - Michael Neibauer 20h. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came and danced downstairs in "the Club," with the dance floor lighted from below. 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. ", She kept up appearances even in the privacy of her home, where she drank Scotch from a decanter in the living room. Senator Barry Goldwater . Calvin Cafritz, their eldest son, became Board Chairman in 1989 and in 1993, he was elected President and CEO of the Foundation. To Calvin Cafritz, she left the symbolic role of family chief, Morris Cafritz'ssuccessor in a world of primogeniture. "I'm sure part of it was to show Herb Miller he was serious.". All rights reserved. Following the death of his father, Calvin became president of The Cafritz Co., Cafritz Construction Co. and Ambassador, Inc. in 1964. Today he shares office space and support staff with Conrad's growing interests, but for the most part pursues his own deals. Mr. "He got up at 5 or 5:30, and he wanted to show me what a hard-working man he was.". She carried her isolation to her grave. There are also real estate assets at Arlingtons 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, which is the former home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. But they also sort of outraged people." He often conveyed his conviction that believing in a cause obligated one to support it financially. Small wonder that, as he approached his forties unmarried, he was one of the most eligible bachelors within the small, closed circle of Washington's Jewish society. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? For him, philanthropy required partnerships that are broad, diverse, and extensive. 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. Each is in his second marriage; each is in some way involved in the arts. 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.. 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. 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. Cafritz is survived by Jane, his third wife, who is a lawyer in the area. "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. By 1915 he was known locally as "The Bowling King" but still restlessly sought an opportunity that would truly engage him. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. She was born January 30, 1936 in Kennett, MO to the late David Richard Roberts and Betty Burbank Roberts. 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. Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate developer Morris Cafritz, died last week at the age of 91. But he's much different from his father, in a lot of ways. 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. She retained the right to will awaythe remaining three-quarters, or $63 million, which sheleft to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. 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.". 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's strategy has been diversity. 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. Conrad and Carter Cafritz are claiming that Rogers and Atlas "secured domination and control" over Gwendolyn, controlling all of her assets and making her the figurehead president of both the foundation and the real estate businesses, "notwithstanding that she was, and Defendants Atlas and Rogers knew she was, incapable of discharging the duties incumbent upon her in such positions." 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. 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. The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. "Jews in general just didn't figure. "Conrad was persistent as hell in getting that project," says one person familiar with Conrad's business. Distinguished D.C. Government Employees Recognized at Cafritz Awards Gala, Office of Communications & Marketing He was 91. 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. "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. 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. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. From the others he solicited their names, bending to murmur prompts into the ear of the star. "He wasn't overly enthused about it, but those were her wishes, and he sort of enjoyed it in a quiet way. 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. January 16, 2023, 1:16 AM 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. 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. "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. A memorial service will be held at a later date. And he still fights his battles with a surprising intensity, rarely bothering with the shake-hands-and-forget-it bonhomie common in Washington business. "The boys used to make a joke of their mother. Recommend Calvin's obituary to your friends. Food has always been a go-to for people in mourning. 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. 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. 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. I just make speeches.". He resigned seven years later to form Cafritz Enterprises. D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist Calvin Cafritz, the eldest son of real estate icon Morris Cafritz and his wife Gwendolyn, died . Through a number of different companies, he both invests in and develops all kinds of properties -- commercial, residential, retail and even industrial. Aubinoe and Edwards also designed the Cafritzes' dramatic house on Foxhall Road. 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. 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.". 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. Ridgewell's had produced, out of retirement, the same waiter who had announced the guests eight years before. After their marriage in 1981, Conrad and Peggy bought Sen. Stuart Symington's house in the Foxhall Road area, studied it for a while, then tore it down to build a new house. There are no events scheduled. . Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. 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. Calvins brother Carter passed away in 2019. It is hard not to wonder what the effect might have been of hearing Gwendolyn Cafritz's will read for the first time. They're more like the French salons.". 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.