Parents Harry Rantz Name Joseph Rantz | Siblings Fred Rantz Children Judy Willman | |
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Spouse Joyce Simdars (m. 1939–2002) Similar Daniel James Brown, Robert Moch, George Yeomans Pocock, Al Ulbrickson | ||
Daniel james brown meeting joe rantz
Joseph Harry "Joe" Rantz (March 31, 1914 – September 10, 2007) was an American rower who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Born in Spokane, Washington, Rantz rowed for the University of Washington during the Great Depression.
In 1936 he won the gold medal as member of the American boat in the eights competition. Rantz earned a chemical engineering degree from the University and worked for Boeing following his retirement from rowing.
Rantz is the central character in the non-fiction book The Boys in the Boat, which inspired the PBS documentary American Experience: The Boys of '36. Both chronicle his struggles through life in his early years, culminating with his gold medal in Berlin in 1936.
He died of congestive heart failure in Redmond, Washington, at age 93.
