Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer with deep ties to Oklahoma who trained thousands of pilots and — at age 82 — became the oldest woman to travel to space, died Wednesday evening at 87, the city of Grapevine, Texas, said Thursday. She died peacefully surrounded by family, according to the announcement.
Roots in Oklahoma and a lifetime in flight
Funk’s career began in Oklahoma. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and later received the university’s Outstanding Female Pilot Trophy. She went on to break a series of gender barriers in federal aviation roles and military training, spending decades teaching and investigating within the aviation community.
Among the milestones in her resume:
- First female flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
- First female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration.
- First female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
- Trained more than 3,000 pilots and logged over 30,000 hours of flight time.
Her life also intersected with one of the lesser-known chapters of early U.S. space history. In 1961 she was selected for the privately funded Mercury 13 program, which put women through the same tests given to NASA’s first astronauts — though women were not permitted to join the official astronaut corps at that time.
| Highlight | Detail |
|---|---|
| Mercury 13 selection | 1961 — privately run tests for female astronaut candidates |
| Spaceflight | July 2021 aboard Blue Origin New Shepard NS-16 at age 82 |
| Flight time | More than 30,000 hours |
Dreams deferred, then realized
Decades after the Mercury 13 tests, Funk finally reached space in July 2021 when she flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-16 mission. The flight made her the oldest woman to travel to space and left her as the only Mercury 13 participant to have made that journey.
“Her determination showed that dreams have no expiration date,” Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell said, adding that Funk’s legacy would inspire future generations.
Locally, Funk’s path — from Oklahoma State to instruction at Fort Sill — is part of a longer story about women carving space in aviation and defense communities here. For generations of pilots trained in Oklahoma, Funk was a visible example that the cockpit, the inspector’s office and the crash-investigation field were not closed to women.
Her death prompted remembrances from aviation and space observers who noted both her practical contributions — thousands trained, tens of thousands of flight hours — and the symbolic weight of her career. In Oklahoma, where military flight instruction and aerospace education remain important economic and cultural fixtures, Funk’s life intersected with institutions that continue to shape the state’s aviation workforce.
As families and flight students reflect on her passing, Funk’s record remains a touchstone for discussions about access, recognition and the long arc of progress for women in flight and exploration.
She is survived by family members noted in the Grapevine announcement. Funeral and memorial arrangements were not released in the initial statement.
