A submersible that was on a mission to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has gone missing, and the pilot, Stockton Rush, is one of the five people who were onboard. The tragedy is heartbreaking in itself, but what’s even more poignant is that Rush’s wife, Wendy Rush, is related to a couple who were onboard the Titanic and died heroically. (usatoday.com) (youtube.com)
Isidor and Ida Straus were first-class passengers on the Titanic’s maiden voyage. Isidor was a co-owner of Macy’s department store, and the couple was one of the wealthiest on the ship. When the ship hit an iceberg, the couple was offered a place on a lifeboat, but Isidor refused, saying that he wanted younger men to be able to take the seats. Ida refused to leave her husband’s side and instead helped their maid, Ellen Bird, onto the lifeboat, giving her her fur coat.
The couple was last seen standing together on the ship before a wave swept them both into the sea. Hundreds of people attended their funeral, and their story has been told by their descendants. In 2017, their great-grandson recounted how the couple’s oldest daughter had told the story to his family during Sunday dinners. The story was also depicted in James Cameron’s 1997 movie Titanic, where an elderly couple is seen holding each other in bed as water floods into their cabin.
Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of the heroic couple. According to reports, Rush’s father is the grandson of the couple’s daughter, Minnie Straus Weil. Wendy Rush is the director of communications and an expedition team member for OceanGate, the company founded by her husband. (nytimes.com) She has participated in three past OceanGate journeys to the Titanic site, according to her LinkedIn page.
The tragedy of the missing submersible and the connection to the Titanic’s heroic couple is both heart-wrenching and emotional. (usatoday.com) Wendy Rush is now waiting for news about her husband, who is missing along with Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman. (fox8.com) The search for the submersible has been ongoing, but time is running out, and the passengers may have less than 24 hours of oxygen left. (timesmachine.nytimes.com) (usatoday.com)
Let’s hope that the search for the submersible is successful and that the families of those onboard can find some solace in the memory of the heroic couple who went down with the Titanic. (linkedin.com) (fox8.com)
