Titanic's Passenger Mausoleum in Woodside: The Straus's

In the movie Titanic, there is a touching scene where an older gentlemen is refused entry to a lifeboat (women and children first). His wife is invited on, but she stays. She has spent her entire life with her husband and will die with him on the boat.

Turns out, the story is true. It is the story of Ida and Isidor Straus. You can read all about their story by googling, but the highlight is that by 1886 Isidor owned Macy's department store (he had bought out Mr. Macy). He was a Congressman who left to work with non-profit educational services.

And he and Ida were that couple on the Titanic.

On the left from the movie Titanic | on the right the real Isidor and Ida Straus

Anywho, when Ed and I toured Woodlawn Cemetery were shown the Straus Mausoleum. Although the were Jewish, they were not particularly observant and the families did not worry about the Jewish directive to bury people in the ground, and the family is interned inside the building.

Ida and Isidor are not buried there as they went into the Atlantic with the ship. But there is a remembrance in the front of the mausoleum which is meant as a graphic reminder of the sinking. It was cool.