With his own death all but certain, wealthy Philadelphia socialite George Widener escorted his wife to lifeboat No. 4, then wandered back into the great ship to await his fate.

Their son, Harry, said his goodbyes and hurried to the third-class section to help lower children to the last remaining boats.

The two Widener men were never seen again.

They disappeared April 15, 1912 - their bodies never to be recovered - as the Titanic plunged 2-1/2 miles to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Their lives are now remembered in plaques at the Widener family's magnificent Greek Revival mausoleum at Laurel Hill Cemetery in the city's East Falls section.

Tomorrow, the tomb is a stop on a tour of more than a half-dozen grave sites of Philadelphia-area Titanic passengers at Laurel Hill and West Laurel Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

Sixty history enthusiasts will hear the victims' stories, then feast on a lavish dinner replicating one hosted by the Wideners for the cream of American society shortly before the ship struck an iceberg 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland. Another tour may be held May 13.

"People are fascinated with Titanic because she ... sank on her maiden voyage with the total of the wealth aboard in the billions of dollars," said Titanic historian and tour guide J. Joseph Edgette, professor of education and resident folklorist at Widener University.

"America's wealthiest people were aboard. In Pennsylvania alone, 44 families were represented. There were about 22 from Philadelphia, all very prominent, in first class."

Edgette, who is writing a book on the passengers and their burial sites, to be released on the Titanic 100th anniversary, said many people have been drawn to the disaster by books and movies that use the event as a backdrop for other story lines.

More than 300 books, dozens of documentaries, and about 20 feature films, including James Cameron's 1997 Titanic, have been produced on the topic since the sinking - not to mention at least 200 pieces of music, including "My Sweetheart Went Down With the Ship."

But Edgette said much of the material doesn't accurately convey what happened that frigid night 94 years ago.

The Titanic was carrying the Edwardian Era's aristocracy in a palatial atmosphere, including expensive period furnishings, an exotically decorated Turkish bath, gymnasium and the finest cuisine.

The list of notables included Col. John Jacob Astor, head of the super-wealthy Astor family; Isidor Straus, merchant and banker; J. Bruce Ismay, managing director of the International Mercantile Marine; Benjamin Guggenheim, head of the Guggenheim family; and Col. Washington Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Many of them were happily sated at the Wideners' dinner the evening of April 14 and had headed back to cozy cabins when they felt the deck shudder and heard scraping from somewhere deep in the bowels of the great liner.

"There were a lot eyewitness accounts of passengers," Edgette said. "Some said there was chaos; some said it was remarkably calm considering the situation. We will really never know."

George Widener spent his last moments with Astor; Guggenheim; John Thayer, vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad; and Archibald Butt, personal aide to President William Howard Taft.

Edgette said that Thayer's son Jack tried to persuade Harry Widener to jump overboard and swim for one of the lifeboats.

"Harry said he couldn't swim, and Jack told him, 'I swim and I can save you,' " said Edgette. "Jack jumped [and survived]; Harry didn't follow."

Edgette said Philadelphia lawyer William Crothers Dulles also was lost in the sinking. His remains now lie in a Greek Revival mausoleum on a hill at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

A massive marble crypt cover is inscribed with his name - and fate aboard the Titanic.

Some of Philadelphia's socialites survived, Edgette said. Charlotte Drake Cardeza, the first woman to circumnavigate the world in her own yacht, and her son Thomas had been traveling in Egypt and were heading home when disaster struck. Charlotte Cardeza had the most expensive suite and the most luggage on the ship.

The mother and son made it to separate lifeboats. They now lie at West Laurel Hill Cemetery - in a granite Egyptian Revival mausoleum with four sphinxes on the roof and lotus plants carved into the sides.

"In Edwardian society, the adult male always stood back and allowed others to proceed," Edgette said. "That's why the rule of women and children first. But at a certain point, men were free to leave after the women and children were off the ship - and some made it."

But even as Edgette tells the personal stories and looks to the Titanic's 100th anniversary, he sees a time when the tragedy may no longer resonate so strongly with the public.

"It's been kept alive over generations, but at some point, people won't relate - and it will drift away," said Edgette.

"After the 100th anniversary, I think we will see less and less of Titanic. A sea bacteria is feeding on the metal of the ship and there won't be a trace of it left anyway."

By Edward Colimore-Inquirer Staff Writer