Party watch

Houston's most powerful, pioneering women command a seat at the Table

What: Reveal of the University of Houston Friends of Women’s Studies Table Talk honorees

Where: The Webster

The scoop: More than 60 guests gathered to pay tribute to the influential University of Houston 2018 Table Talk honorees.

Led by Divya Brown and Leila Perrin, the event celebrated a group of 50 local female pioneers, from company leaders to doctors to entrepreneurs, including Cheryl Creuzot, Lynn Wyatt, Sima Ladjevardian, Phoebe Tudor, Estella Cockrell, Jessica Rossman, Leisa Holland-Nelson, and Claire Cormier Thielke.

Inspiring those in attendance, each honoree spoke to the strength of what women can accomplish. But the night wasn’t all business.

Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres from Bella Compagnia, champagne, and the opportunity to shop the latest fashions from top designers, including Dior, Saint Laurent, and Gucci, at The Webster. A percentage of sales benefited the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at the University of Houston.

The 21st Table Talk luncheon is slotted for March 28 at the Hilton Americas-Houston.

Who: Those toasting the honorees included KHOU anchor Mia Gradney, Lindley Arnoldy, Monica Hartland, Alex Habib, Ebony Goudeau, Joi Maria Probus, Sarah Valle, Heidi and Marcus Smith, Maryam Khreibani, Yasmine Haddad, Jonathan Santana, Lauren Levicki, and Elizabeth Gregory.

Megan Bailey, Lindley Arnoldy.

Photo by Art Giraldo

Megan Bailey, Lindley Arnoldy.

fundraisers

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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