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. 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. 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. "Jews in general just didn't figure. Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love. "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. "She was a classic case," summarizes Vidal. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. sales@governmentexecutiveconsultingservices.com, Copyright 2022 Government Executive Consulting Services. He was 91. "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. The Morris and. Baron and Baroness Constantine Stackelberg . "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. That task was left to her closest relatives. 2 SONS CONTEST $84 MILLION CAFRITZ WILL - The Washington Post They keep china and glassware sufficient to serve hundreds. They have helped us to be innovative and to expand. Cafritz was a native and longtime resident of Washington, DC. To slip out of the speedy traffic on Foxhall Road into the half-circle driveway was to slip back in time. She is survived by her daughter Jane Cafritz (Calvin) of Washington, DC, five grandchildren: James Speyer, Irina Rubenstein and . The entire time, he fought with gloves off, publicly charging his rivals with bad faith. (202) 338-4833, Georgetown Media Group. 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. The D.C. community is better for his engagement and we will miss him terribly.. 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. The same plain white damask draped the table, with plain white damask napkins tied around settings of her heavy Georg Jensen flatware. But Gwendolyn sometimes took pains to tell friends that she herself was not Jewish. There is, for example, the very palpable legacy of real estate developed by Morris Cafritz, including several lots and office buildings downtown. Cafritz Family Obituaries | Cafritz Last Name Obits He never tired of committing himself to this mission, which only grew bigger with time. He also is a director. About - The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation A memorial service will be held at a later date. Calvins father Morris built the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel at 14th and K Streets NW, homes next to the National Arboretum, the Greenwich Forest neighborhood in Bethesda and several office buildings downtown. 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. He left it as follows: Half to the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. If you know of an upcoming event for Calvin Cafritz, please add one. 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. But she had a disconcertingly self-serious way of advertising it. The outcome of the lawsuit is unpredictable, though clearly it will be an uphill fight: Showing that someone was alcoholic is very different from demonstrating that she was incapable of writing a will. "He's part of a legendary family, and he's the only one who seems interested in keeping up the legend," says one friend. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. "Conrad is really an anomaly," says lawyer and real estate developer Donald Brown. "Lots of times she could drink and she knew exactly what she was doing. When the Cafritzes' back terrace offered the most celebrated view of the city, southeast, past the swimming pool and rolling lawn, all the way to the Capitol. Her gown, as in the past, was spectacularly formal: folds of purple satin sweeping to her ankles beneath a fitted bodice. 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. 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. 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. Calvin, Carter and Conrad, all of Washington, and 13 grandchildren. Says a friend, "He thinks they're a lot of fuddy-duddies living in the 17th century." 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 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). Chances are, many Washingtonians might not even realize how much real estate the Cafritz family is responsible for in the area. He has interests too in a booming brokerage firm he helped bankroll, and in a Midwestern shopping-center conglomerate. To one interviewer she said that art was "the theme, you might say" of her life, "as in a Wagnerian opera." His most notable contribution was in the streamlined art deco apartment houses designed, either singly or together, by architects Alvin L. Aubinoe and Harry L. Edwards, including the Majestic, the Hightowers, the Empire and the since-demolished Gwenwood on 19th Street NW. Calvin Cafritz began his career with Cafritz Construction in 1947, pausing briefly to attend college and serve in the military. 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. 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. Each is in his second marriage; each is in some way involved in the arts. Mr. James Edward Cafritz Obituary 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. He is also survived by his brother Conrad Cafritz, chairman and CEO of Cafritz Interests, a real estate company. One quarter to be divided among his sons, in trusts they would inherit outright at age 35. Cafritz exemplified what it means to be an inspirational leader and a great human being, said Pyatybratova. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. 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. Once it was built, he wasn't interested in it.". 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. CAFRITZ SONS WIN ESTATE CHALLENGE - The Washington Post He was 91 years of age. 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. 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. To Martin Atlas, she left $50,000 and a Chagall painting. Thanks to the support of the Cafritz Foundation for the last 25 years, CEPL has supported organizational transformation across the public sector in the city. Calvin's younger brothers, Conrad and Carter, are behind-the- scenes players in many business and charitable ventures players. He began with houses, ultimately building about 10,000 homes in the Washington area. He was 91. She also made bequests of $100,000 each to 10 of her 13 grandchildren -- excluding the children Conrad adopted, to whom he has remained a committed father. 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. But almost no one seems to doubt that Conrad is the main force behind it. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of Calvin Cafritz. 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. 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. 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. At the time the lawsuit was filed, family sources told The Washington Post that the marital trust was worth $84 million. Ymelda Dixon, who covered many of her parties for the Evening Star, recalls, "They were great parties, because she had the means and the imagination. Meanwhile, for as long as it takes, Conrad's childhood home turns a sleeping face to Foxhall Road, drapes drawn at all the windows. Mr. Cafritz was married previously two times; his first wife was Enid Cafritz and his second wife was Joyce Smith. 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. To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one. 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. 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. That's what we call a success story. "She was not, as they say, invited anywhere at the beginning," recalls Gore Vidal, whose novel Washington, D.C. includes a character "suggested," he says, by Gwendolyn Cafritz. You have funeral questions, we have answers. 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. 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. In Memoriam: Calvin Cafritz. We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. 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. Operating under his own banner, Calvin Cafritz Enterprises, he has built both residential and commercial buildings in D.C. and Virginia. The judge's decision, though in favor of Conrad and Carter Cafritz, is of little. It asks the court to rule that under Morris's will, which gave Gwendolyn the right to leave the trust to "such person or persons" as she wished, the foundation -- technically a corporation -- could not qualify to receive the trust. 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. January 27, 2023. Then there is the charitable legacy. Obituary. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation in December 1988 and since February 1989 had served as Board Chairman. "I've just bought 100 acres of downtown Washington," he was fond of saying. "He wasn't overly enthused about it, but those were her wishes, and he sort of enjoyed it in a quiet way. Ridgewell's had produced, out of retirement, the same waiter who had announced the guests eight years before. The foundation, which Calvin led for over 30 years (after his mother Gwendolyn died in 1988), focuses on programs in the arts and humanities. This suit asks the court to overturn her will, after which, under D.C. law, her property would be divided among her sons. 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. Cafritz started by investing in real estate, and was always ready to make a prescient purchase, but his true passion was construction. 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, D.C. developer, businessman and philanthropist has died Irene Bloch, as she is called, is a wealthy department store owner's wife who mounts a relentless campaign for acceptance in Washington society. 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. Jane Lipton Cafritz was elected in the second half of 2022 to succeed her husband as the foundations president and CEO. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 pm on December 2 at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson with David Schaefers officiating. "He took me into the kitchen and showed me how the cook would leave coffee for him in the morning," remembers the friend. Marvin LaVerne Katz, 83, of Dallas, Texas, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Dallas. "I think he went along," says a longtime business associate, Irwin Altman. Devoted father to Laurence (Sherri) Cafritz and Jodi (Mark Bronsky) Cafr In his later years he established one of the Washington region's leading philanthropic entities, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 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. The best poems for funerals, memorial services., and cards. 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. The George Washington University community is remembering the life of Calvin Cafritz, a businessman, philanthropist and longtime supporter of GW. 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. Remembering Calvin Cafritz - Meyer Foundation All three stayed in Washington to work at some variation of their father's trade. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, grande dame of the Washington arts and education We will miss his gracious and generous presence.. Where he was meat and potatoes, earnest frugality, civic pride, she was flashing dark beauty, mercurial moods and social ambition. It is easy to imagine that for a son of Morris Cafritz, watching great deals go unmade is a kind of hell. . Cafritz is survived by Jane, his third wife, who is a lawyer in the area. Expand the Memories and Condolences form. 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. He was "greatly respected and liked, even in an antisemitic society," recalls Dixon. "Right at the moment he could be most charming, he does something to undercut it," says one friend. 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 (1931-2023) | The Georgetowner Since 1989, Cafritz led the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, a charitable organization named for his parents. Was believed to be 102. Would you like to offer Calvin Cafritzs loved ones a condolence message? (Conrad and Peggy were both involved in Barry's first election campaign, and Peggy is the godmother of Barry's son, Christopher.) But he reached outside that circle when he finally married. Calvin Cafritz Obituary Aubinoe and Edwards also designed the Cafritzes' dramatic house on Foxhall Road. 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? "Very sort of philosophic, sort of honorable." Mr. Cafritz said that the awards are designed to "shine a light on the contributions of extraordinary government employees. 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. Kateryna Pyatybratova directs the centers Cafritz Awards program. 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. 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. 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,. He's truly out to make a big impact on the city, I think. Calvin Cafritz - Rockville, Maryland , Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky A minor but colorful part of Cafritz's legacy was an idea borrowed from Harry Wardman, his predecessor as the leader of the field. "Carter, he always did what the other two did," says Casey. 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. One quarter to his widow, in a "marital trust" that would pay her interest until her death and give her the power to "appoint" the ultimate heirs to the principal; if she did not exercise this power, the principal would pass to the Cafritzes' sons upon her death. 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. Conrad is angrily aware, say friends, that his success will always be explained away. JAMES CAFRITZ Obituary (1930 - 2020) - Rockville, DC - The Washington Post Senator Barry Goldwater . 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.