George W. Romney died childless.
George Wilcken Romney ( July 8 , 1907 -- July 26 , 1995 ) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician . He was the father of former Governor of Massachusetts and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the husband of former Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney . Willard Mitt Romney ( born March 12 , 1947 ) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and the Republican Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election . He married Ann Davies in 1969 , and they have five sons .