LAMAMIMET

Wally Funk was an American aviation pioneer who broke gender barriers throughout her seven-decade career. Born Mary Wallace Funk on February 1, 1939, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, she developed a passion for flight early in life and earned her pilot's license by age 17. She excelled in aviation education at Stephens College and Oklahoma State University, where she became a skilled pilot and flight instructor. In 1961, she was selected for the privately funded Mercury 13 program, undergoing the same rigorous training as NASA's Mercury 7 astronauts and outperforming many of them on several tests. Despite her qualifications, she was never selected for NASA's astronaut program due to gender restrictions.

Funk blazed trails in commercial aviation, becoming the first female flight instructor at a U.S. military base, the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector, and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. Over her career, she trained more than 3,000 pilots and logged over 30,000 hours of flight time. She also investigated over 450 aviation accidents and was internationally respected in her field.

Her dream of spaceflight was finally realized on July 20, 2021, when, at age 82, she flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-16 mission, becoming the oldest person and oldest woman to travel to space. This achievement fulfilled a lifelong ambition and honored her legacy as a trailblazer for women in aviation and space exploration. She passed away on July 8, 2026, at the age of 87 in Grapevine, Texas, surrounded by loved ones.