It was expected that over 1,000 people could turn out for the funeral of Hans Boxler, Sr, 81, from Varysburg. The Wyoming County man was the owner of the Hidden Valley Animal Adventure and a lifelong dairy farmer. He was killed on July 18th after being trampled by a Nilgai Antelope that got out of its pen while Boxler was feeding his animals.
Boxler was well-known in the community for his love of animals and his generosity. He organized the annual Old Fashioned Harvest Days that raised money for multiple charities including St. Vincent's Catholic School, Sheldon Baseball and the Varysburg Volunteer Fire Department.
However, it was his passion for animals that drove Boxler to collect exotic species from all over the world and put them on display in natural settings for the public to see during safaris at his animal park.
Since animals were such a big part of his life, they were also used for a special funeral procession.
Two of Boxler's favorite Belgian horses pulled a caisson with the farmer's casket to a Mass of Christian Burial at Sts. Joachim & Anne Parish in Varysburg where special outdoor accommodations were set up to handle the overflow crowd.
7 Eyewitness News reporter Ed Reilly was in Varysburg for the funeral procession and talked to community members about Hans Boxler's legacy.
After being closed for the wake and funeral, Hidden Valley Animal Adventure will resume normal operations on Thursday July 28th.
More information is available here:http://hiddenvalleyadventure.com
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