Wally Funk, the oldest woman to go to space, dies at 87

Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Jul 9, 2026

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Aviation pioneer and commercial astronaut Wally Funk died July 8 in her Grapevine, Texas, home at the age of 87, according to a news release from the City of Grapevine. The statement said Funk passed “peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.”

Funk was born in Las Vegas, N.M., in 1939 and dedicated her life to aviation. She left a legacy of breaking barriers in her career as one of the pilots of the all-female Mercury 13 test program, where she out-performed her male counterparts on Mercury 7.

She was also the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration; the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Board; and the first female flight instructor at a U.S. military base, at Fort Sill, Okla. Funk trained more than 3,000 pilots and logged more than 30,000 hours of flight time over the course of her life, according to the city.

“Wally was a beloved Grapevine resident whose extraordinary accomplishments and generous spirit left an enduring legacy,” the statement from the City of Grapevine said. “The City of Grapevine proudly recognizes Wally Funk, whose extraordinary career has inspired generations by breaking barriers in aviation and space exploration. Funk continues to serve as a global symbol of determination, perseverance, and excellence.”

In 2021, Funk, who was 82 at the time, finally had her dream of going to space come true, and she became the oldest woman to travel to space during a mission on Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard NS-16 Blue Origin rocket.

“The whole thing was so fantastic,” Funk later said of the mission while speaking at a parade in her honor in Grapevine in 2021. “I could float around in space for three whole minutes. I couldn’t believe it. This was the most fabulous thing of my life.”

Funk and the other female pilots in the Mercury 13 program didn’t have that opportunity decades earlier because NASA shut the program down in 1962.

While many speculate that the Mercury 13 program was closed because NASA didn’t want women in the space race with the Soviets, Funk said the reason she wasn’t selected was because of her lack of an engineering degree, according to previous reporting from the Star-Telegram.

Many Grapevine residents and other North Texans are now remembering Funk for her remarkable accomplishments.

“Wally Funk’s unwavering determination proves that dreams have no expiration date,” said Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell. “Her courage, resilience and groundbreaking achievements continue to inspire young people — especially girls — to pursue careers in science, aviation and space exploration. Grapevine is honored to call Wally Funk one of our own.”

Funeral arrangements for Funk have not been announced yet.

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