Starry Night

Elegant Museum of Fine Arts, Houston gala raises $1.6 million

A landscape of midnight blue and the glow of chandeliers set the scene for the 2025 Grand Gala Ball at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in the Caroline Wiess Law Building. This year’s sold-out affair honored longtime supporter J. Venn Leeds, whose philanthropic signature on the museum spans decades.

Guests stepped through a tented entrance swathed in deep blue linens and soft candlelight while inside, the cocktail reception featured white banquettes, gold accents, and floral arrangements that struck a balance between sleek and celebratory.

Dinner in Cullinan Hall transported attendees to an indoor garden-meets-starry-night vignette created by The Events Company. Trees and florals filled the room, silver-embroidered tablecloths shimmered under a collection of chandeliers, and the Manhattan Orchestra provided the evening’s soundtrack.

The evening raised over $1.625 million, thanks to robust support from donors and the introduction of the Jan and J. Venn Leeds Grand Gala Ball Operating Endowment.

This year’s lead underwriter was the Hildebrand Fund. Other underwriters included ExxonMobil, Cherie and Jim Flores, Nancy and Rich Kinder, the Leeds. Fayez Sarofim & Co., Susan D. Sarofim, Anne S. Duncan, Lynne and Joe Hudson, Cornelia C. Long, the Schnitzer Family, and Margaret Alkek Williams.

Among those joining the celebration were Alvin Abraham, Claudia Kreisle, Sara Morgan, Ann and Karl Stern, Doug and Melissa Schnitzer, Joan Schnitzer, Janie and Daniel Zilkha, Michelle and Frank Hevrdejs, Durga and Sushila Agrawal, Anu and Shirish Lal, Paula and Reggie DesRoches, Suresh and Renu Khator, Cyvia Wolff, Nancy and Butch Abendshein, Meredith Cullen, Carla Knobloch, Andrius and Tamara Kontrimas, Dan and Kirsten Zimmerman, Will and Kristin Pritchard, Leslie and Jack Blanton Jr., Kathy and Marty Goossen, and Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones.

Photo by Michelle Watson

Scott and Geraldine Wise; Renu and Suresh Khator.

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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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RIP, Wally

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