CEO of Titan sub had chilling connection with elderly couple who died in Titanic
As the search for the OceanGate Expeditions' Titanic-bound submersible has reached its tragic end, another chilling discovery about the company's CEO has heightened the disconcertment of the grieving public.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was one of the five passengers in the submersible that went missing near the Titanic wreck on June 18 and was found to have suffered a catastrophic implosion on June 22 EST. Rush, who piloted the watercraft, and the rest of the people onboard are presumed dead.
Rush founded his underwater exploration company in 2009 with the goal of making the experience accessible to "citizen explorers and scientists." But his connection to the ill-fated ship goes beyond passion and entrepreneurship.
According to The New York Times, Rush's wife Wendy is the great-great-granddaughter of a wealthy New York-based couple who died in the sinking of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912. They were the elderly couple immortalized by James Cameron in a heart-rending scene in his 1997 blockbuster film about the disaster.
The New York Times traced the ancestry of Rush's wife and found that her great-great-grandparents are Isidor and Ida Straus.
Isidor was a prominent American-Jewish businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from 1894 to 1895. He co-founded Macy's, a chain of high-end department stores in the country, with his brother Nathan. Isidor married Ida in 1871.
Wendy's link to the couple, which The New York Times discovered through archival record, was confirmed to be true by the executive director of the Straus Historical Society to ABC News.
According to the organization, Dr. Richard Weil III is the father of Wendy. He is the son of Richard Weil Jr. who, in turn, is the son of one of the Strauses’ daughters, Minnie.
ABC News reported that Strauss Park in New York City was named in honor of Isidor and Ida.
A love that no water can ever drown
Isidor and Ida continue to leave a mark on the hearts of many for the bravery and infinite love they demonstrated in the face of death.
The couple was among the wealthiest passengers aboard Titanic's first voyage, which reached its painful end when it hit an iceberg and started sinking at around 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912.
Survivors recalled seeing the couple and Ida's maid, Ellen Bird, standing near Lifeboat No. 8 as officers in charge were assisting women and children in fleeing the sinking vessel. Although Isidor was offered a seat on the lifeboat, he refused to take it, thinking of the other women and children that still couldn't leave the ship.
According to history and culture website Clio.com, Isidor urged Ida to board, but she insisted on staying with her husband of four decades, saying, "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." They were last seen standing arm in arm on the Titanic's deck.
Isidor's remains were found at sea two weeks after the historic disaster, while Ida's body was never recovered.
Titanic director James Cameron commemorated the Strauses and their tragic love story in a scene where the elderly couple is depicted holding each other on a bed that is slowly being submerged in rushing water.