Remember Bubba, the peacock we wrote about last summer when he was getting aggressive toward people in Spanaway?

He's dead.

Residents of the Oakridge Manor manufactured home community found him frozen to death under a porch earlier this week.

Neighbors called us Wednesday to tell us of his passing. There was a rumor going around that foul play was involved.

But Friday, shortly after a Pierce County animal control officer arrived to investigate, residents learned the truth: Mother Nature got Bubba in the end.

"At least it was a natural thing," said Jody Miksovsky, who used to feed Bubba and let him roost in one of her oak trees. She is one of several neighbors who welcomed the peacock during the three years he roamed the neighborhood. No one ever knew where he came from, but he was a blessing, she said.

"We have so many wonderful memories thanks to him," Miksovsky said.

The community now is in mourning. I went down and spoke to several families on Friday. Several people shed tears.

Miksovsky called the peacock Bubba, but the McMullen family called him Bob.

"I miss Bob," said 7-year-old Megan McMullen, crying. She and her two older sisters used to play tag with the bird, she said.

McMullen's grandmother, Pam Tobin, left flowers and a card on the Miksovsky's fence in the peacock's honor.

"We wish it wasn't true," the card's envelope said.

Look for a story in the paper about the loss of the beloved peacock early next week.