North Texas aviation pioneer Wally Funk to be honored in celebration of life ceremony in Southlake
A celebration of life ceremony honoring the memory of aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who passed away at age 87 in July, will be held in Southlake on Tuesday afternoon.
Funk, who called Grapevine home, became the oldest woman to travel to space.
Following her death, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O'Dell said, "Wally Funk's unwavering determination proves that dreams have no expiration date."
You can watch the ceremony live at 1 p.m. CT on our livestream on the CBS News Texas YouTube page.
Wally Funk's accomplishments
In 1961, Funk was chosen for the First Lady Astronaut Trainees program, ranking among the program's top performers as she completed rigorous testing, according to the city of Grapevine.
While she was qualified and outperformed many of her male counterparts, women weren't allowed to become NASA astronauts at the time. However, Funk blazed her own trail, becoming the first female flight instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Her career garnered her international respect.
In July 2021, at age 82, Funk's dream of reaching space finally came true. She joined Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-16 mission, which also included Jeff Bezos and other crew members. The mission earned her a new Guinness World Record as the oldest woman to ever travel to space.
She shared that experience with CBS News Texas anchor Doug Dunbar.
