"Space Cowgirl" Wally Funk, who earned many firsts in her pilot career and set a space flight record, died in her Texas home on Wednesday. She was 87.
"Wally embarked on her final flight on July 8, 2026," according to her website. "As she soars to heaven, we will miss her bright smile and her unbridled enjoyment of a life well lived."
As a kid, Funk said she had an early start to flying in a 2015 interview with Oklahoma State University's (OSU) Oklahoma Oral History Program. Sporting a Superman cape, 5-year-old Funk jumped off her family's barn but it didn't go as planned.
"Got up there, jumped off the barn, wiggled my wings and I went right into the hay," Funk said.
In 1961, Funk volunteered for the Women in Space Program and eventually became one of 13 women who qualified to be astronauts, known as the Mercury 13. But despite their ability, the program ended before any launched into orbit.
Funk was the only participant to pass all tests, with results out-performing her male counterparts in several areas, according to the Guinness World Records.
When asked how she would like to be remembered in her oral history interview, Funk simply said she loves aviation and likes to get people interested in it.
"It's just been a joyous, joyous life for me," Funk said. "I've never had a bad day."
Later at 82, Funk finally fulfilled her space dreams during the first Blue Origin flight with people in 2021, becoming the oldest person to fly in space at the time. She remains the oldest woman to make it to space.
Before volunteering for the Women in Space Program, Funk graduated from OSU. Her first job was as a flying instructor in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
As a pilot, Funk earned multiple awards and accomplishments including logging 19,600 hours of flying time, becoming the first female air-safety investigator for the National Transportation Board and the first female Federal Aviation Administration Inspector.
After her space flight in 2021, Funk returned to OSU. During her visit, only about 8% of all certified pilots in America were women. In 2025, data from the Federal Aviation Administration Data shows the number rose to about 11%.
After learning of her passing, university officials extended their sympathies on social media.
"When Wally returned to Stillwater, she inspired our students to keep going, keep learning and "make it happen," university officials wrote. "She dreamed as big as the sky. She stood for what mattered. She finished what she started."
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