lit a candle 2 Sept 2026Lighting a candle from Singapore. Wally meant a great deal to a lot of us here.
Their story
Mary Wallace Funk, known to the world as Wally, was born on 1 February 1939 and died on 8 July 2026. She was an American aviator, a commercial astronaut and a goodwill ambassador, and much of her working life was spent opening doors that had never been open to a…
Mary Wallace Funk, known to the world as Wally, was born on 1 February 1939 and died on 8 July 2026. She was an American aviator, a commercial astronaut and a goodwill ambassador, and much of her working life was spent opening doors that had never been open to a woman before. She was the first woman to serve as an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and the first woman to work as an inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration. She was also one of the Mercury 13.
On 20 July 2021, at the age of 82, Wally finally left the Earth, travelling on the suborbital flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft. In doing so she became the oldest person ever to go into space, ending a record John Glenn had held for 23 years. Her own record lasted only a few months, until William Shatner flew on 13 October of that same year at the age of 90. Even so, as of 2026 no woman older than Wally has made the journey.
She was the last of the Mercury 13 still living, and the only one of those thirteen women who ever reached space.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), retold in our own words. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
3(from left to right) CH-46E pilot Lt. Col. Jenifer Nothelfer with Marine Transport Squadron 1and the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Air Wing, Maj. Gen. Jo
by People Forever
Wally Funk delivers remarks after accepting the 2022 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement, Thursday, March 24, 2022, at the Smithsonian National Air
by People Forever
Exuberant and thrilled to be at the Kennedy Space Center, seven women who once aspired to fly into space stand outside Launch Pad 39B neat the Space Shuttle Dis
by People Forever
Yes. This.