The wife of the CEO of Oceangate, Stockton Rush, Wendy Rush, is a direct descendant of two first-class passengers who perished in the 1912 Titanic disaster.
According to archival records cited by The New York Times, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is one of five people on board the missing submarine that vanished on Sunday while traveling to see the Titanic wreckage, is a descendant of two first-class passengers who perished when the ship sank in 1912.
Wendy Rush, the head of communications at OceanGate, is reportedly the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Strauss, who perished after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean more than a century ago, according to a report from the publication published on Wednesday.
Wendy, whose real name is Wendy Hollings Weil, is a niece of Minnie Straus. Minnie wed Dr. Richard Weil, Wendy’s great-grandfather, in 1905.
In the 1997 James Cameron film Titanic, a scene depicting a couple clutching each other as the waters rose in their cabin used a dramatized version of the Strauss’ relationship. The Times reports that survivors remembered seeing the couple on the ship’s deck as it sank.
Stockton Rusha, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, is seen in a file photo speaking in a promotional film.
Associated Press/Shutterstock
The Straus’ were a wealthy couple and some of the richest passengers aboard the Titanic. According to the Times, Isidor shared ownership of Macy’s department store at the time.
The couple’s great-grandson told Today in 2017 about his family members’ ordeal on board the tragic ship.
“My great-grandmother Ida stepped into the lifeboat expecting that her husband would follow,” Kurzman recalled. The ship’s officer in charge of lowering that specific lifeboat remarked, “Well, Mr. Straus, you’re an elderly man. When he didn’t follow, she was very concerned. and everybody knows who you are. Of sure, you and your wife can board the lifeboat.
And, he added, “And, my great-grandfather said, ‘No. Until I see that every woman and child on board this ship is in a lifeboat, I will not enter into a lifeboat myself.’”
Isidor Straus, co-owner of Macy’s and a passenger on the Titanic with his wife Ida, died in the accident in 1912; photo taken about 1910.
Getty Images, Hulton Archive, and Topical Press Agency (2)
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According to a wedding announcement that the Times was able to get, Wendy wed Stockton, the Titan submersible’s pilot, in 1986.
According to CBS News, OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owns the underwater vehicle, charges visitors upwards of $250,000 to visit the location of the Titanic’s 1912 collision in order to view the ship’s wreckage. On the expedition, participants can record the rate of deterioration and see historical remnants.
At the Macy’s flagship store in New York, a plaque honoring former co-owner Isidor Straus and his wife Ida Straus is displayed.
via Getty Images, Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
A representative for OceanGate said in a statement received by PEOPLE on Tuesday: “We have been unable to establish communications with one of our submersible investigation vehicles which is currently touring the Titanic wreck site for some time. The crew’s health is our top priority, and we are doing everything in our power to bring the five crew members home safely. As we attempt to re-establish contact with the submersible, we are incredibly appreciative of the immediate and wide support we are receiving from numerous government organizations and deep-sea enterprises. We pray for the crew’s and passengers’ safe arrival home, and we’ll let you know when there are any updates.
According to OceanGate’s website, the Titan is “more cost efficient” than other deep-diving submersibles due to its “innovative use of modern materials.”
According to the company’s website, the Titan was built using “a combination of ground-breaking engineering and off-the-shelf technology,” giving it a “unique advantage over other deep diving subs.”
The business continues, “The use of commercially available components helped to streamline the construction and makes it simple to operate and replace parts in the field.”
