Margaret Pretzer

Margaret E. Pretzer, 84,

Bismarck, passed away at

Sanford Medical Center

on Friday, April 15, 2022.

Her children were with

her at the hospital when

she passed away.

Please join us to mourn

the passing of Margaret at

11:00 a.m., Friday, April

22 at Eastgate Funeral &

Cremation Services, 2302

East Divide Avenue,

Bismarck.

There will be a post

funeral luncheon at the

Country Inn & Suites

Bismarck, 3205 N 14th St,

Bismarck, ND 58503.

Margaret Essig was born

April 22, 1937, the

daughter of Walter and

Alice (Riedlinger) Essig,

in Bismarck. She graduat-

ed from Anamoose High

School in 1954 and from

Trinity School of Nursing

in 1958.

Margaret worked as a

nurse in Fort Wayne, IN,

Minot, ND and Minneapo-

lis, MN. She was known

for her compassion for her

patients. Her colleagues

were impressed with how

she really listened to eld-

erly and confused patients

and treated them with

kindness and respect.

She married Arlo

Pretzer in 1960, and had

three children, Rhonda

(Pretzer) Willenbring,

Karen (Pretzer) Wesloh &

James Pretzer.

Margaret loved flowers.

She had a green thumb

and her plants flourished

both inside and outside

the house. She enjoyed

getting a bargain and find-

ing hidden treasures in

stores, thrift shops and

especially garage sales.

Some of those treasures

became gifts that were

uniquely suited to the re-

cipient and often

showcased her quirky

sense of humor. Most of

all, she loved spending

time with her children,

grandchildren, and great

grandchildren.

She was a kind and gen-

erous person that always

put the needs of others

above her own. She was

strong and resilient and

was making jokes with the

hospital staff while they

were working diligently to

try to keep her with us.

Surviving family in-

cludes children, Karen

(Darryl) Wesloh, Jim

Pretzer; grandchildren,

Dana (Lisa), Ricky (Jenny),

and Justin (Alisa)

Hartleib;

great-grandchildren, Ka-

den, Maverick, Weston,

Gavin, Piper and Rylan;

siblings, Kay Bennett,

Robert (Rita) Essig and

James (Judy) Essig;

son-in-law, Donavan Wil-

lenbring and numerous

nieces, nephews and

cousins.

Margaret was preceded

in death by her daughter,

Rhonda Willenbring;

brother-in-law, Richard;

mother, Alice and father,

Walter.

Contributions to Ger-

mans From Russia Heri-

tage Collection would be

appreciated.

To share memories of

Margaret, view the service

livestream and sign the

online guestbook visit,

www.eastgatefuneral.com.