Wife of Missing Titanic Submarine Pilot Is Descendant of Couple Who Died on 1912 Ship

Wendy Rush, who is the wife of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, and the man that was piloting the submarine that has been lost at sea since Sunday, is a descendant of a couple that died on the original Titanic in 1912.

June 22, 2023

Image via Ocean Gate/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images and History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Wendy Rush, who is the wife of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, and the man that was piloting the submarine that has been lost at sea since Sunday, is a descendant of a couple that died on the original Titanic in 1912, according to the New York Times.

The couple, Isidor Straus and Ida, were depicted in James Cameron's iconic 1997 film on the tragedy that starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Per the New York Times:

"Ms. Rush’s ancestors on the Titanic are perhaps best known for their tragic love story. Survivors of the disaster recalled seeing Isidor Straus refuse a seat on a lifeboat when women and children were still waiting to flee the sinking liner. Ida Straus, his wife of four decades, declared that she would not leave her husband, and the two were seen standing arm in arm on the Titanic’s deck as the ship went down."

Isidor Straus was one of the wealthiest people aboard the doomed vessel and was a co-owner of Macy’s. Wendy Rush, who has served as OceanGate's, communications director, is Isidor and Ida's great-great-granddaughter.

According to the New York Times, Isidor Straus’s body was located around two weeks after the Titanic went down while Ida Straus’s body was never recovered.