Update as of June 23, 2023: Titanic sub destroyed in ‘catastrophic implosion,’ all five aboard dead.
Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush, turns out to be a descendant of two first-class passengers who died on the Titanic in 1912.
Stockton, who was the CEO of the company that operates the vessel, was among the passengers of the private submersible that went missing during an expedition in exploring the wreckage of the Titanic along with other businessmen and explorers.
As reported by the New York Times, Stockton’s wife is said to be the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Strauss, who were among the wealthiest people who board the Titanic for its first voyage.
If you’re wondering who Isidor and Ida Strauss are, they were portrayed in fiction in director James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, as the old couple embracing in bed as the waters enter their cabin.
However, the couple is much known for their tragic love story during the events of Titanic. It is said that Isidor refuses a seat on the lifeboat as the women and children are still waiting to flee the sinking ship. Ida, who couldn’t leave Isidor, stayed with him and the couple were last seen standing arm in arm on the deck of the Titanic as it went down.
Isidor’s body was found in the sea two weeks after the ship sank, however, Ida’s remains have never been recovered.
According to Joan Adler, the executive director of the Strauss Historical Society, Wendy is a descendant of Minnie, a daughter of the Strausses, who was married to Richard Weil in 1905. Their son Richard Weil Jr.’s son, Richard Weil III is Wendy’s father.
Wendy married Stockton in 1986 according to a New York Times wedding announcement, and has participated in three expeditions to the Titanic wreckage conducted by OceanGate in the past two years, where she works as the communications director.
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