Sub pilot’s spouse has family link to Titanic: report
- Report: OceanGate CEO's wife is a descendant of two Titanic passengers
- Wendy Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus
- Their story was fictionalized in James Cameron's 1997 film about the Titanic
FILE – In this April 10, 1912 file photo the Titanic leaves Southampton, England on her maiden voyage. The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic shipwreck has indefinitely delayed plans to retrieve and exhibit the vessel’s radio equipment because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a court filing made by the firm on Friday Jan. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/File)
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(NewsNation) —The wife of the CEO of OceanGate, and pilot of the submersible that went missing, is a descendant of two passengers of the Titanic, according to a report in The New York Times citing archival records.
Wendy Rush is the wife of Stockton Rush, who was piloting the submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean during a dive to the Titanic wreckage.
The New York Times report revealed that Wendy Rush is a descendant of Isidor and Ida Straus, two first-class passengers who tragically died when the Titanic sank in 1912.
Isidor Straus was a co-owner of Macy’s department store, and their story of refusing to separate during the disaster became well-known, according to The New York Times.
Wendy Rush, formerly Wendy Hollings Weil, married Stockton Rush in 1986, according to a New York Times wedding announcement. She participated in three OceanGate expeditions to the Titanic wreckage, according to her LinkedIn page.
According to the report, Isidor and Ida Straus are remembered for their tragic love story. Isidor refused a seat on a lifeboat to stay with his wife, and they were last seen together on the Titanic’s deck. Their story was fictionalized in James Cameron’s 1997 film about the Titanic.
Wendy Rush is descended from the Straus’ daughter, Minnie, and her husband Dr. Richard Weil. Isidor Straus’ body was found at sea, according to New York Times archives, but Ida Straus’ remains were never recovered, the report said.