Joe's Journey: The Boy In The Boat's Fate

Joe Rantz, a member of the rowing team in the 2023 sports drama film The Boys in the Boat, had a difficult childhood. After losing his mother at a young age, he was abandoned by his father and mistreated by his stepmother. Despite these challenges, Joe went on to compete in the 1936 Olympics, winning gold in the men's eight. He then retired from rowing and worked for Boeing for 35 years after graduating from the University of Washington with a chemical engineering degree. Joe married his college girlfriend, Joyce, and the couple had five children together. Joe passed away in 2007 at the age of 93, leading a long and fulfilling life.

Joe Rantz's life after the 1936 Olympics

After winning Olympic gold at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Joseph Harry Rantz returned to the University of Washington and continued to compete in rowing. He rowed in the University of Washington senior varsity eights, winning US national Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles in 1936 and 1937, as well as the sophomore title in 1935 and the freshman title in 1934.

Rantz graduated from the University of Washington in 1939 with a degree in chemical engineering. That same year, he married his college sweetheart, Joyce, to whom he would remain married for 63 years until her passing in 2002. The couple had five children together.

Rantz worked for the Boeing Corporation in Seattle for 35 years after graduating from university. He contributed to the invention of the cleanroom. After retiring from Boeing, he started his own business making cedar posts and shakes.

Rantz died on September 10, 2007, at the age of 93 from congestive heart failure. He had a long and fulfilling life, overcoming a troubled childhood to achieve Olympic glory and provide a stable and loving life for his family.

Joe's troubled childhood

Joe Rantz had a troubled childhood, marked by tragedy, abandonment, and hardship. Born in Spokane, Washington, Rantz had a harsh early life in Boulder City, Idaho, and later, Sequim, Washington. When he was just four years old, his mother, Nellie Maxwell, passed away from throat cancer. After his father, Harry Rantz, remarried in 1921, Rantz's new stepmother, Thula LaFollete, struggled to raise him alongside her four younger biological children.

At the age of 10, Rantz was left at the town's schoolhouse by his father after a disagreement with Thula. He was allowed to stay there in exchange for chores, including chopping wood. To survive, Rantz learned to hunt, fish, and work odd jobs. At 15, Rantz was abandoned again when his father, stepmother, and half-siblings left him and drove away. Left to fend for himself during the Great Depression, Rantz lived in an unfinished house in the woods, putting himself through high school. He supported himself by working various manual labour jobs, including logging timber, building fences, baling hay, and clearing tree stumps.

Despite the challenges, Rantz excelled in school and participated in sports. His strength and potential were noticed by rowing coach Alvin Ulbrickson, who recruited him for the University of Washington rowing team. Rantz's determination and resilience, forged during his difficult childhood, laid the foundation for his success as an athlete and his journey towards winning Olympic gold in 1936.

Joe's relationship with his father

Joe Rantz's relationship with his father was strained and marked by abandonment. When Joe was four years old, his mother, Nellie Maxwell, died of throat cancer. His father, Harry Rantz, remarried when Joe was seven, but Joe did not get along with his stepmother, Thula LaFollete, who had four younger children of her own. Thula did not like Joe, and when he was ten, Harry left him at a one-room schoolhouse after a disagreement with Thula's child. A teacher allowed Joe to stay at the school in exchange for him doing chores. Joe supported himself by hunting, fishing, and working odd jobs.

Harry retrieved Joe a few months later as the family was moving to Sequim, Washington. However, their financial situation worsened, and in November 1929, when Joe was 15, Harry and Thula left him behind as they moved to an undisclosed location with Thula's children. Joe lived in a half-finished cabin in the woods for two years, continuing his schooling and working various jobs to support himself. He then moved in with his older brother, Fred, and Fred's wife in Seattle, where he attended Roosevelt High School and excelled academically and athletically.

Joe's father and stepmother's abandonment of him during the Great Depression is depicted in the 2023 film "The Boys in the Boat," directed by George Clooney and based on Daniel James Brown's 2013 book of the same name. However, one viewer commented that the film did not do justice to the emotional impact of Joe and Joyce tracking down Harry and Thula, spending a day with Thula's children, and still being rejected by Harry.

Joe's marriage to Joyce Simdars

Joe Rantz and Joyce Simdars' marriage is a heartwarming love story that began in their childhood. Joyce was born on November 7, 1915, in Sequim, Washington, and Joe was born on March 31, 1914, in Spokane, Washington. They knew each other as children, and Joe had a crush on Joyce when they were little. Their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship by the time Joe was ready to leave for college. Joyce is described as a friendly and affable person who loved taking pictures, with Latin and Mathematics being her favourite subjects.

Joe was a year above Joyce in school and left for the University of Washington, where Joyce followed him the next year. Before leaving for college, Joe had already proposed to Joyce. According to a close source, the couple was in a meadow looking for four-leaf clovers. Joe claimed he had found one, and when Joyce asked him to show it to her, he opened his hand to reveal an engagement ring.

In college, Joe and Joyce strengthened their bond. Joe was not in a financially stable place, having been abandoned by his father years before. On some days, he didn't have enough money to feed himself, so he relied on soup kitchens. Despite their financial challenges, Joe and Joyce enjoyed simple dates with soda crackers and a can of tomato soup. They often hung out at the cafe in the college or went for picnics around town.

Joyce wholeheartedly supported Joe's dedication to rowing and followed the team's trajectory, listening to the radio when she couldn't attend games. On the day Joe graduated from the University of Washington in 1939 with a chemical engineering degree, the couple got married. Joe went on to work for Boeing, and Joyce worked as a clerk. They had five children together, whom they raised in a house in Seattle's Lake Forest Park, which they bought in 1941.

Joe and Joyce's marriage lasted 63 years, until Joyce's death in 2002. Joe passed away a few years later in 2007, at the age of 93. Their story is a testament to enduring love and commitment, overcoming the challenges of Joe's troubled childhood and financial struggles. Together, they built a stable and loving family, creating a lasting legacy.

Joe's career at Boeing

Joe Rantz's career at Boeing spanned 35 years, during which he worked on numerous NASA projects and contributed to the war effort by designing elements of the B-17.

Rantz joined the Boeing Corporation after graduating from the University of Washington with a chemical engineering degree in 1939. His Olympic success and prestigious degree helped him secure the job. Rantz's childhood had been marked by abandonment and hardship, and he was determined to give his five children a positive and stable life.

Rantz's commitment to providing for his family is evident in his decision to pursue a stable job at Boeing after retiring from rowing. He was part of the University of Washington's rowing team, with whom he won the gold medal in the men's eight at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He continued to excel in the sport, winning the United States National Intercollegiate Rowing Association title in 1937.

Joe Rantz's journey, from his challenging childhood to his successful career at Boeing, is a testament to his resilience and determination.

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