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Tags: oceangate | titanic | isidor straus | ida straus | wendy rush

OceanGate CEO's Wife Descendant of Titanic Victims Isidor, Ida Straus

By    |   Friday, 23 June 2023 07:48 PM EDT

The wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who perished while piloting the Titanic-bound submersible that suffered a "catastrophic implosion," is a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the ocean liner sank in 1912.

According to archived records obtained by The New York Times, Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who were among the wealthiest people aboard during the Titanic's fateful maiden voyage. Isidor Straus co-founded Macy's department store with his brother, Nathan.

The couple is remembered for choosing to remain together as the ship sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. The maritime disaster claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people.

"My place is with you," Ida reportedly told Isidor when the call went out for women and children only to board the lifeboats. "I have lived with you. I love you, and, if necessary, I shall die with you."

Though ultimately given permission to board a boat due to his age, Isidor refused, saying he would not take the spot while there were still women and children on board the sinking vessel.

"They were standing arm in arm as the last boat left," a survivor told the Times. "She would not forsake her husband. As she refused, she clung to him, and they went down arm in arm with the boat."

The tragic ending to their 40-plus year love story was immortalized in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster "Titanic," which featured a scene showing an elderly couple holding each other while lying in bed as the waters begin to rise around them.

According to the paper, Wendy Rush is a descendant of Minnie Straus, one of the couple's daughters. Minnie married Dr. Richard Weil in 1905, and their son, Richard Weil Jr., served as president of Macy's in New York.

Weil Jr.'s son, Dr. Richard Weil III, is Wendy Rush's father, the paper reported, citing Joan Adler, the executive director of the Straus Historical Society.

Wendy married Stockton Rush in 1986, according to a New York Times wedding announcement.

She is listed as the communications director for OceanGate on her LinkedIn page and indicated she has been down to the Titanic wreck three times in the past three years.

The OceanGate submersible went missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, during a sight-seeing expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic on Monday. Following a frantic search operation, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that debris of the Titan submersible was found on Thursday.

All five passengers of the submersible likely died in an instant after their vessel suffered what the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday was a "catastrophic implosion" in the ocean depths.

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The wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who perished while piloting the Titanic-bound submersible that suffered a "catastrophic implosion," is a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the ocean liner sank in 1912.
oceangate, titanic, isidor straus, ida straus, wendy rush
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2023-48-23
Friday, 23 June 2023 07:48 PM
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