Wally Funk, an American aviation pioneer and one of the “Mercury 13,” has died at 87. Multiple outlets report that Funk died on Wednesday at an apartment in an assisted living facility in Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said Funk had fallen recently and had an infection in her leg, which she said contributed to her decline.
Funk became known for fulfilling a long-delayed dream of spaceflight. She flew into space at age 82 in 2021 and became the oldest woman to have traveled into space. Sources note that she was also the oldest person in space at the time, a record later surpassed by William Shatner and Ed Dwight, both reported to have been 90.
Articles also highlight that Funk took and passed astronaut tests in the 1960s that were similar to NASA’s early selection exams for men, but did not have access to a spaceflight opportunity for decades. Her later career in aviation and safety roles is also widely referenced in obituaries and profiles.
