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Frank Hart pictured beside elephant.
Frank Hart, the former Southern California real estate executive who turned a small wild animal park into Douglas County’s largest tourist attraction, died Friday in Eugene.
Hart, 84, had broken his neck during a fall last month at his home just down the road from Wildlife Safari near Winston. He never fully recovered.
Two public services are planned on Aug. 19 at the park’s Discovery Theater, which will be renamed the Frank Hart Theater in his honor. The services, at 2 and 3 p.m., will allow park workers to attend one memorial and then relieve other workers so they may attend the next service.
Hart is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughters Louise Strecker of San Diego, Nancy Hart of Eugene, Frances Hart of Portland and Mary Hart Carlson of Torrance, Calif.; and brother John Hart of San Diego.
Hart remained active at the park well into his 70s. After he retired, he kept a two-way radio tuned to the park’s frequency and stayed abreast of what was going on, said Dan Van Slyke, the former Douglas County commissioner who became Wildlife Safari’s executive director in January.
“Even at 84, he still had such a passion for the park,” Van Slyke said. “He’d call me once in a while and offer me advice.”
Hart was once president of Walker and Lee, a real estate company based in Anaheim, Calif., with 65 offices and 1,300 employees. At the time, Walker and Lee also owned Wildlife Safari, a faltering park that was causing great anxiety for the company’s board of directors.
In its first year after opening in 1973, Wildlife Safari lost more than $1 million. The following year, Hart traded his ownership interests in Walker and Lee for control of the park. He poured $350,000 of his own money into the operation and went four years without a salary.
While living in California, Hart developed a passion for wild animals after making several big-game hunting trips to Africa, beginning in 1963. He visited Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania and other countries and became especially intrigued with the plight of cheetahs, his daughter Frances Hart said.
The fastest land animal, reaching speeds of up to 65 mph, the cheetah has been long valued by hunters for its spotted fur. It has also suffered from the loss of habitat and prey.
Hart, who became a conservationist in the late 1960s, learned that the breeding of cheetahs had been nearly impossible outside the wild areas of Africa. He later came to believe that the cramped conditions at zoos and other facilities hampered breeding efforts. He felt Wildlife Safari would be more conducive.
“What he thought was that they needed space and he created that space,” Frances Hart said.
Over the years, more than 150 cheetah cubs have been successfully bred at the 600-acre park — the most outside Africa. This spring, two of the park’s adult cheetahs gave birth to a total of seven cubs.
The cheetah has long served as the park’s mascot and a statue cheetah watches over traffic at Winston’s main intersection.
Van Slyke said the county was bettered by the vision of Frank and Barbara Hart, who worked together to make the park a success.
“They were truly committed to the welfare of the park,” he said. “It’s interesting that a single guy could develop what turned into the county’s premier tourist destination.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Hart, 84, had broken his neck during a fall last month at his home just down the road from Wildlife Safari near Winston. He never fully recovered.
Two public services are planned on Aug. 19 at the park’s Discovery Theater, which will be renamed the Frank Hart Theater in his honor. The services, at 2 and 3 p.m., will allow park workers to attend one memorial and then relieve other workers so they may attend the next service.
Hart is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughters Louise Strecker of San Diego, Nancy Hart of Eugene, Frances Hart of Portland and Mary Hart Carlson of Torrance, Calif.; and brother John Hart of San Diego.
Hart remained active at the park well into his 70s. After he retired, he kept a two-way radio tuned to the park’s frequency and stayed abreast of what was going on, said Dan Van Slyke, the former Douglas County commissioner who became Wildlife Safari’s executive director in January.
“Even at 84, he still had such a passion for the park,” Van Slyke said. “He’d call me once in a while and offer me advice.”
Hart was once president of Walker and Lee, a real estate company based in Anaheim, Calif., with 65 offices and 1,300 employees. At the time, Walker and Lee also owned Wildlife Safari, a faltering park that was causing great anxiety for the company’s board of directors.
In its first year after opening in 1973, Wildlife Safari lost more than $1 million. The following year, Hart traded his ownership interests in Walker and Lee for control of the park. He poured $350,000 of his own money into the operation and went four years without a salary.
While living in California, Hart developed a passion for wild animals after making several big-game hunting trips to Africa, beginning in 1963. He visited Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Tanzania and other countries and became especially intrigued with the plight of cheetahs, his daughter Frances Hart said.
The fastest land animal, reaching speeds of up to 65 mph, the cheetah has been long valued by hunters for its spotted fur. It has also suffered from the loss of habitat and prey.
Hart, who became a conservationist in the late 1960s, learned that the breeding of cheetahs had been nearly impossible outside the wild areas of Africa. He later came to believe that the cramped conditions at zoos and other facilities hampered breeding efforts. He felt Wildlife Safari would be more conducive.
“What he thought was that they needed space and he created that space,” Frances Hart said.
Over the years, more than 150 cheetah cubs have been successfully bred at the 600-acre park — the most outside Africa. This spring, two of the park’s adult cheetahs gave birth to a total of seven cubs.
The cheetah has long served as the park’s mascot and a statue cheetah watches over traffic at Winston’s main intersection.
Van Slyke said the county was bettered by the vision of Frank and Barbara Hart, who worked together to make the park a success.
“They were truly committed to the welfare of the park,” he said. “It’s interesting that a single guy could develop what turned into the county’s premier tourist destination.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
