Jenny Wallenda, 87, the matriarch of the famous family of high-flying circus performers, died late Saturday at her home in Sarasota, Florida, according to family members. Wallenda's nephew, Rick Wallenda, said his aunt died following a lengthy illness. 'She had a great life in entertainment, a very rewarding and rich life,' he said. Wallenda was the oldest daughter of high wire walker Karl Wallenda and grandmother of daredevil performer Nik Wallenda. Matriarch: In this January 1964 photo, Jenny Wallenda applies makeup in a dressing room prior to appearing at the opening of the Shrine Circus in Detroit. She died late Saturday at age 87 . Relative: Wallenda was the oldest daughter of high wire walker Karl Wallenda. Karl Wallenda is seen in London in this November 1976 photograph . Legacy: Jenny Wallenda was  grandmother of daredevil performer Nik Wallenda, seen here over the Grand Canyon in 2013 . Tricks: Karl Wallenda is seen here preforming in February 1964. He later fell to his death in 1978 . Jenny Wallenda's husband, Richard Faughnan, died in 1962 when a human pyramid collapsed. Karl Wallenda fell to his death in 1978. Jenny Wallenda survived the invasion of Berlin by Soviet forces at the end of World War II and returned to the United States in 1947 to perform with her family. Her parents sent her to Germany to live with her grandparents in 1934 at age 6. Jenny Wallenda walked the high wire as an adult and performed on bareback horses as a child. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune Wallenda advocated for causes important to the circus community in her later years and helped create the Circus Ring of Fame. She was inducted into the Ring of Fame in 2008. Nik Wallenda paid tribute to the woman he called Oma on his Facebook page. 'She was an amazing woman who lived a truly incredible life. She will be missed everyday. Oma in your honor, I will never give up,' he wrote. Tribute: On Facebook Nik Wallenda (seen over Chicago in 2014) wrote of grandmother Jenny Wallenda 'She was an amazing woman who lived a truly incredible life. She will be missed everyday' Embrace: Jenny Wallenda (left), is seen with her father Karl Wallenda, center, and her sister Carla, right . The famed Wallenda circus troupe perform at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit, January 30, 1962. Two of the group were killed and a third injured  when this pyramid formation collapsed and the performers fell to the ground. Left to right (bottom row): Dieter Schepp, 23; Mario Wallenda, 21; Richard Faughnan, 29; Gunther Wallenda, 42. Second row, left to right: Karl Wallenda, 57; Herman Wallenda, 60. Sitting on chair atop pyramid is Jana Schepp, 17. Dieter Schepp and Faughnan died in the fall. Mario Wallenda and Miss Schepp were injured . Famous family: In this January 1964 photo, Karl Wallenda, center left, and his daughter Jenny, center right, wait on the sideline with troupe members Louis Murillo, left, and Andy Anderson, before performing a high wire act in Detroit .
Jenny Wallenda, 87, the matriarch of the famous family of high-flying circus performers, died late Saturday at her home in Sarasota, Florida . Her nephew, Rick Wallenda, said his aunt died following a lengthy illness . Wallenda was the oldest daughter of high wire walker Karl Wallenda and grandmother of daredevil performer Nik Wallenda . Nik Wallenda has walked over the Grand Canyon and over Chicago . Jenny Wallenda walked the high wire as an adult and performed on bareback horses as a child . She also advocated for causes important to the circus community in her later years and helped create the Circus Ring of Fame .