Margarete “Gretel” Cadwallader, age 93 of Belle Fourche, died Saturday, February 14, 2026 at the Monument Health Spearfish Hospital.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held 10:30am Friday, February 20, 2026 at Leverington Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Interment will take place in Pine Slope Cemetery.

Margarete Xavier was born September 14, 1932 in Trier, Germany. She was the daughter of Franz and Paula (Bruder) Xavier. She was united in marriage to William Cadwallader in October of 1958 in her hometown of Trier Germany. Bill served in the U.S. Air Force for many years and that brought them together. During his military career, Bill and the family lived in many places throughout the world, including Germany, California, Nevada, and Colorado. Margaret became a U.S. Citizen in 1963, two years after they moved back from Germany. In 1976, Bill retired from the Air Force and the family moved to Belle Fourche. In 1997 Bill and Margarete moved to Texas, and then returned to Belle Fourche in 2013.

Margarete’s nickname was “Gretel”. She was a devoted mother, during all those years of raising the family with Bill. She loved to knit and crochet, and she made many things like tablecloths and doilies. She loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren very much. She will be missed greatly by all of her family.

Margarete is survived by her husband, William of Belle Fourche; 3 daughters, Gabriele (David) Powell of Boerne TX, Connie (Galen Zurcher) King of Powell WY, Paula (Wade) Woods of Belle Fourche; 6 grandchildren, Ricky, Dennis, Erin, Michael, Holly, Billy; 9 great grandchildren, Taylor, Aiden, Xavier, Anthony, Ryan, Tristan, Ashton, Zayleigh, Morgan, and one on the way.