A smoking hot party: Bach to the Future gala turns up the theatrics, moves big spenders

Everyone knows what happens when the clock strikes midnight. But only zealots of the Back to the Future trilogy are fully cognizant of the implications of 10:04 p.m., that is, when lightening hits at the perfect moment to vortex the film protagonists on a wild time-space travel adventure.

No details were overlooked in the multimedia recreation of that scene for Mercury's "Bach to the Future" gala on the stage of Wortham Theater Center Friday — with a tuneful twist.

As smoke lifted from behind a see-through screen, from an impeccably maintained DeLorean DMC-12, on loan from retired attorney Chuck Waters and wife Sandy, out came Mercury's maestro, "Doc" Antoine Plante, sporting a mad scientist lab coat and white powder on his curls. A zestful performance of timeless classics that included works by Vivaldi, Bach and "Johnny B. Goode" as a nod to the evening's theme stirred concertmaster Jonathan Godfrey, as a Marty McFly of sorts, to tear up solo riffs on his fiddle on the floor.

Guests let their wallets do the talking and rocked on dancing.

Brigid Spin, a discerning music lover, was so moved by the presentation that she agreed to underwrite the company's purchase of period timpani.

Taking a bow for the gala were chairs Christine and Jan Spin, whose mother Brigid Spin, a discerning music lover who studied piano for 14 years, was so moved by the presentation that she agreed to underwrite the purchase of the company's period timpani for $9,000 — a gesture that earned a standing ovation.

Big spenders Janet Kelly of honoree ConocoPhillips and former COO John Carrig couldn't let go of a holiday package at Plante's home in Isle Verte on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, and Joe Gonzalez and Huntsville-native Bill Baldwin added to their art collection an original David Adickes painting.

With many new faces in the crowd, the energy in the room surpassed the expectations of organizers, who were thrilled at the $210,000 that will support Mercury's operations, performances and community education programs.

In the crowd of 300-plus were Lynn Wyatt, Debbi and Lanny Griffith as emcee, Susan and Dennis Carlyle, Deana and Larry Blackburn, Janine Iannarelli, Tina Raham and Jonathan Stewart, Cathy and Randy Crath, Viviana and David Denechaud, Roy Schlappich, Glenna Scharon, Geoffroy Petit and opera star Ana María Martínez.

Elizabeth Charles and Lorento Jolofeev

1, Mercury Gala, March 2013, Elizabeth Charles, Lorento Jolofeev

Photo by © Roswitha Vogler Photosbyrovo.com

Elizabeth Charles and Lorento Jolofeev

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RIP, Wally

Texan Wally Funk, oldest woman to travel into space, dies at 87

Wally Funk aboard Blue Origin New Shepard

Photo courtesy of Blue Origin

The 82-year-old Wally Funk became the oldest person to go to space on July 20, 2021.

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.

Funk died Wednesday, July 8 at her apartment in an assisted living facility in Grapevine, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O'Dell said Thursday. O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O'Dell said in a phone interview.

Wally Funk became a hometown hero in Grapevine. Facebook/Wally Funk's Space for Race

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

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas aboard his Blue Origin rocket.

In interviews after the 11-minute flight, Funk enthusiastically told reporters, "I loved every minute of it. I just wish it had been longer.”

Wally Funk in her '20s as a flight instructor. Facebook/Wally Funk's Space for Race

She became a hometown hero when she returned home to Dallas-Fort Worth; the city of Grapevine threw a parade for her history-making experience.

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

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This story contains material from CultureMap story archives.

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