MO Postal Worker's Death on Route Blamed on Heat Exhaustion

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A U.S. postal carrier died on his route this week, and his widow said Wednesday she believes he died from heat exhaustion.

KCTV reports John Watzlawick, 57, of Blue Springs was found about 2 p.m. Tuesday by a passerby near 35 N. Cottage St. He was rushed to Independence's Centerpoint Medical Center where he later died.

The Jackson Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and whether heat exhaustion is to blame or a contributing factor.

His devastated widow, Kay Watzlawick, told KCTV that she believes the intense heat led to her husband's death, but doesn't know for certain. Temperatures in the Kansas City area reached up to 106 temperatures.

Watzlawick has been with the Postal Service for 28 years. His widow said he would have celebrated his 58th birthday on Aug. 1.

Now his distraught family is planning a funeral rather than a birthday celebration.