SAXONBURG — The body of a 61-year-old man was found in his Main Street apartment Thursday after being dead for more than a week.

Robert Stack apparently died of heart failure in his second-floor home above Mimi's Memories, Antiques & Gifts shop, said deputy coroner Denny Trzeciak.

Trzeciak said the man had a history of medical problems and had open heart surgery.

Saxonburg police Chief Joe Beachem said Stack was found by his landlord after neighbors noticed a strong smell coming from the apartment.

“It was a very strong odor,” Beachem said.

Borough Councilwoman Pam Bauman, who owns the gift shop below the apartment, smelled the stench at least a week before the body was found.

Bauman didn't realize it was emanating from an upstairs tenant.

“I never smelled that before,” she said. “I thought, perhaps, it was a dead animal below the building.”

Bauman closed the store for three days to allow time for the odor to dissipate and out of respect for the deceased.

“It was very shocking,” she said. “I never experienced anything like that before.”

Bauman didn't know Stack.

“I just saw him in the parking lot,” she said.

Trzeciak said he believes Stack was battling the flu when he experienced heart failure.

Stack's dog was taken from the apartment and given to the Butler County Humane Society.

“He was scared at first,” Trzeciak said. “But we gave him some water and he was real friendly.”

Trzeciak said that while it is not unheard of for people to be found several days after death, it is no longer all that common because most people with medical problems who live alone are checked on regularly.

Trzeciak said the man's closest family lived in Harrison Township, Allegheny County.