PORT ORCHARD – When an explosion took the lives of William and Maria McDonald in Port Orchard Feb. 23, their death left a hole in their family, their friends and their faith community.

“We will miss them tremendously,” said Father Phuong V. Hoang, pastor of St. Gabriel Parish in Port Orchard, where the couple were longtime members. “They were very dedicated. If you’d come to know them you’d become their friends. They were faithful, generous parishioners.”

The 4 a.m. explosion engulfed their manufactured home and shattered windows in nearby buildings. The couple, Maria, 65, and William, 70, were found in their bedroom.

Son Bill McDonald said the blast was caused by a propane leak under their house and was an accident.

He said his parents were “100 percent Catholic,” and were parishioners at St. Gabriel for 30 years. “All of us five kids were baptized, confirmed. Being Catholics was a huge part of our lives,” McDonald said. He said his parents raised money for church programs, bought gifts for needy children and even brought doughnuts after Masses.

“My mom was a huge fixture, everyone in Port Orchard knew her,” he said. His dad, who converted to Catholicism when he married Maria, was past grand knight of the Knights of Columbus.

Maria McDonald worked at Kitsap Bank for the past 22 years and was planning on retiring in May. “She had a wonderful smile and pet names for people,” said Shannon Childs, senior vice president of marketing for the bank. “In many ways she was the face of the bank. She had an infectious smile and a really spunky personality. She was a very devoted mother and wife. We loved Maria.”

The bank closed the day after the blast in her memory, and flowers poured in. Residents stopped by to say how much she meant to them. Childs said many bank employees had felt the blast and were hoping it wasn’t the McDonald home, but when she didn’t show up for work they all knew the worst.

Bill McDonald worked in selling satellite dishes and met his wife when he was stationed in Guam with the military. “After he left Guam he returned and courted Maria,” said his son Bill, and they married when she finished high school.

Ron Fitzsimons felt the explosion and hoped it was away from the McDonald home, but he later drove by to see the devastation. He said they were friends for 35 years and active together with Knights of Columbus. “They were jewels,” he said. “We’d walk in their house and we were like brothers and sisters.” Fitzsimons said he and Bill were fishing buddies and he’ll miss their fishing trips.

He said when the Knights of Columbus met it would always be at Bill’s house and he would cook all the dinners. He said the couple had planned to leave for Hawaii this Saturday. The couple were also active in the Guam Club. “The community is going to be lost without them,” said Fitzsimons. “The Knights will really be lost without Bill.

Maria McDonald was Chamorro, from Guam, and was active in the local Guamanian Club, serving as club secretary. Manny Flores, past president of the club, said Maria would help organize meals for the homeless, cooked Thanksgiving dinners, and was active in the children’s Christmas party. “They were very friendly and generous people, always giving,” said Flores. “You ask them to do anything and they’re always there. They were always smiling, making you feel at home.”

Mercie Sablan Jesus is also active in the Guam community and is mourning the couple’s loss. “She was a kind person, very giving,” she said of Maria. “She was very easy to get along with. I’m so shocked, I see her face all the time.”

In a statement issued by the family, they said, “Bill and Maria shared a tremendous love for life and touched many hearts with their unconditional devotion to family, friends and community.”

The McDonalds are survived by their five children, Gwendalyn McDonald Papenhausen of Mukilteo, Bill McDonald of Port Orchard, Anjanette McDonald Reed of Kenmore, Eric McDonald of Sequim and Jennifer McDonald Collins of Dublin, Ohio.

A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, March 5, at 11 a.m. at St. Gabriel Church, 1150 Mitchell Ave., Port Orchard.

A memorial account for donations has been created at Kitsap Bank: The Bill and Maria McDonald Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1515, Port Orchard, WA 98336.