GRAPEVINE, Texas — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who became the oldest woman to travel to space, died Wednesday at an assisted living facility in Grapevine, Texas. She was 87.
Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said Funk died after suffering recent falls and a leg infection.
“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a phone interview.
Funk gained national recognition as one of 13 female pilots who completed the same astronaut screening tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but were never selected to fly in space through the agency.
In 2021, she fulfilled her lifelong goal of traveling to space when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos invited her to join the first crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. At age 82, she became the oldest person to travel to space, a record later surpassed by actor William Shatner and former astronaut candidate Ed Dwight, who both flew at age 90.
Bezos selected Funk as an honored guest to fly with him and two other passengers on the suborbital mission launched from West Texas.
Blue Origin paid tribute to Funk in a post on X, calling her “a pioneer in every sense of the word.”
“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the company said.
O’Dell described Funk as determined throughout her career.
“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,'” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”
According to a biography released by the City of Grapevine, Funk became the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Funk also participated in the privately funded Mercury 13 program during the 1960s, where she and 12 other women completed astronaut training tests but were not permitted to become NASA astronauts.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman honored Funk in a post on X.
“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” Isaacman said.
