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From: Sydney, Australia
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posted 07-09-2026 10:43 PM               

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I have many fine memories of dear Wally Funk - a truly ouststanding and remarkable woman whom I had the pleasure of meeting several times. One of those was when Francis French and I were able to have her attend Scott Carpenter's family book signing event in Pasadena in 2003. She could not contain her excitement at meeting so many space luminaries, but especially Mercury astronauts Gordon Cooper and Scott.

Another time, I told her I was going to fly to the States and make my way to Quanah, Texas, where they were dedicating a space museum hall to hometown hero, Ed Givens. "Can I give you a lift?" she asked - and she was quite sincere. We drove in her ute from her Roanoke home near Dallas all the way across Texas - talking all the way - to the small panhandle town of Quanah, and while I did some presentations she had organised to give talks at local schools. It is a truly wonderful memory.

Of course, as Francis has mentioned, she was quite delighted when we worked with her to put together the chapter "The Two Wallys" for our book, "Into That Silent Sea".

I was so excited for Wally when she finally got to achieve her most cherished dream - to fly into space - and at the age of 82 she became (and still is) the oldest woman to fly into space.

I do recall one funny incident when Wally emailed me in a bit of a dither as she had heard that an Australian band named Spiderbait had released an album called "The Flight of Wally Funk" and she wanted to know if I'd heard of the CD. It's really not my type of music, but I contacted Kram, the band's drummer, and he was astonished that Wally Funk was actually a real person. Someone in the band had read the name somewhere and they decided it was quite funky (!) and released the CD with her name in the title. Kram (Mark) sent me a copy of the CD, which I listened to and then posted over to Wally, but with a warning - if you don't like bad language, don't listen to it. But she did, and said that one time was enough.

Happy trails and clear skies, Wally. You'll never be forgotten.

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From: Merseyside, England
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From: Killingly, CT
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posted 07-10-2026 11:30 AM               

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I met and talked to Wally at a Light Sport Aircraft show in Sebring, FL in 2017. She gave a wonderful disertation on her life and the Mercury 13, Got her signature in my Pilot log book. A fabulous person with tons of positive energy.

Rest in peace wonderful lady....

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