Authorities say no one had noticed for more than a year that a Wayne man had died even as the mail piled up and bills went unpaid.

Officers found Donald Domsky's body in the bedroom of his home on Jan. 20 after a neighbor who missed seeing him on his morning walks had asked police to check on him.

Authorities estimate Domsky died of natural causes in December 2010. He would have turned 80 in August.

Domsky is described as a friendly man who kept to himself. Neighbors that News 12 New Jersey spoke with were surprised that not even the mailman noticed that letters and packages had piled up outside Domsky's home.

Domsky was well known at the Crossroads Eatery about three miles from his home. Co-owner Valerie Boyle says Domsky was waiting outside before dawn every morning for 20 years, and helped them set up for breakfast, in exchange for coffee, cigarettes, and conversation.

When he stopped going into Crossroads, other customers assumed he had gone to live with relatives. No one suspected the tall, lanky retired machine shop worker had died. Even though he lived a solitary life, the regulars in this diner say Domsky had a bigger impact on people than he probably ever realized.