GRAPEVINE, Texas– Wally Funk, aviation pioneer and the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87 years old.

Funk died Wednesday in his apartment at an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell said Thursday. O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said she was by his side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in his leg.

“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a telephone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s male astronaut corps in the early 1960s, but never made it to space. In 2021, he got his chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go to space, although the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first black astronaut candidate. Both were 90 years old.

Bezos chose Funk as a “guest of honor” to travel with him and two others on a jump from West Texas aboard his Blue Origin rocket.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day he would reach space. His passion for flight, his perseverance and his love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Good luck, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted on X Thursday.