Wally Funk, oldest girl to journey into house, dies at 87

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest girl to launch into house, has died. She was 87.

Funk died Wednesday at her house in an assisted residing facility within the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell stated Thursday. O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, stated she was by Funk’s facet. Funk had fallen a few occasions just lately and had an an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O’Dell stated in a telephone interview.

Funk was one among 13 feminine pilots who went by the identical exams as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps within the early Nineteen Sixties however by no means made it into house with that company. In 2021, she bought her likelihood aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest individual to enter house, although the report was later damaged by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They had been each 90.

Bezos selected Funk as an “honored guest” to experience alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a put up on X, Blue Origin stated Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the put up stated.

O’Dell stated Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell stated. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the primary feminine inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the primary feminine air security investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, in accordance with a quick biography launched by the City of Grapevine.

In the Nineteen Sixties, she and different feminine pilots went by astronaut coaching within the Mercury 13 program, however they weren’t allowed to develop into astronauts.

“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,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.