Congratulations to Wally Funk ’60 for becoming the oldest person in space at age 82 after the successful Blue Origin New Shepard rocket flight on July 20, 2021! We are so proud of our sister and her accomplishments! You can see CBS News  recorded livestream: https://cbsn.ws/3kIPuyl.

Wally is the oldest person to enter space. It’s a crowning achievement in a lifetime of firsts. After graduating from OSU in 1960, she went on to become  the youngest member of the “Mercury 13,” a group of 13 women who successfully underwent the same rigorous testing as the first astronauts. Mercury 13 was a private venture meant to pave the way for women in space, and was ultimately canceled. 

She was the first woman to become a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator, investigating over 450 accidents during her career.

She took her first airplane ride at age 13, earning her private pilot’s license by 16 (she was drawn to OSU because of the national reputation of the Flying Aggies flight team). She would later become a flight instructor, logging over 19,500 hours and teaching more than 3,500 students. Oklahoma State inducted her into its Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010, and she entered the Aviation Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995.

In a 2015 interview for the O-STATE Stories, she recalled her time at Alpha Chi Omega.

“I was an Alpha Chi Omega, and I didn’t quite like all the foo-foo stuff that they wanted us to do with the dances and so forth...when they had us dance, I’d do one dance and go up to my room, change my clothes, and get out the window and go to the airport [for nighttime flying practice].”

Alpha Chi Omega sister Sandra Cate Trostel remembers those days. On Facebook, she noted: “Wally, I know you didn’t tarry long at AXO social activities, but skipped out to go to the airport. We are so glad you did! You’ve got a sisterhood who thinks you are out of this world!”

Wally flew nearly every day as a student. “Oklahoma State was, I knew I could do anything, because I just had that feeling. Oklahoma State gave me the knowledge and think-aheadness to become what I am now and get into space,” Funk said in the oral history. “We loved each other. There was something about OSU from the very beginning that was a great bond.”

After she graduated, Wally went to Fort Sill, becoming the first female civilian flight instructor. A year later, she headed to California to become a chief pilot in a private airline service.

In 1961, she was recruited by fellow female pilot Jerrie Cobb to participate in a private project putting the nation’s top female aviators through the same physical and psychological tests used to choose NASA’s male astronauts for Project Mercury. Researchers found that the women equaled or outperformed the male astronauts, excelling especially in isolation and sensory deprivation. “I was told I was a good candidate,” Funk said.

When NASA opened up programs to women in 1976, Funk applied three times. Even though she wasn’t chosen, she never gave up her goal of experiencing space flight. In 2000, she went through a space program at a Russian cosmonaut training center. 

In the news broadcast after the flight, she said to Jeff Bezos, “I want to thank you sweetheart, because you made it possible for me. I’ve been waiting a long time to finally get up there. I want to go again … fast!”

“We can confirm that Wally, once again, outperformed the men in training,” Bezos added. 

From all of us at Alpha Chi Omega, congrats, Wally! You truly embody our motto, ‘Together, let us seek the heights!’ We’re AXO proud.