When Gustav E. Freestad was born on 20 September 1900, in Canby, Yellow Medicine, Minnesota, United States, his father, Hans Retius Larssen Friestad, was 23 and his mother, Gertie Nelsen, was 21. He married Helena Yager on 19 June 1954, in Billings, Yellowstone, Montana, United States. He lived in Big Horn, Montana, United States in 1935 and School District 32 Willow Crossing, Powder River, Montana, United States in 1940. He died on 23 January 1976, in Montana, United States, at the age of 75, and was buried in Custer, Montana, United States.