Gisela Eckstein, née Frei was born in Steinach on December 11, 1897 as the daughter of the merchant Bernhard Frei and his wife Rosa, née Löwenberger. The Frei family who came from Eichenhausen near Bad Neustadt had been living in Steinach since the first half of the 19th century and had been working as butchers and cattle dealers for generations. Gisela had six siblings who were also born in Steinach. In 1912, after the death of their father, their mother – presumably accompanied by the younger siblings – moved to Bad Kissingen. Whether her 15-year-old daughter was with her remains unclear, as she completed an apprenticeship in Schweinfurt in the following years. In any case, from August 1916 onward, she lived in Bad Kissingen again with her family, who moved to Ludwigstrasse in October 1917. According to her registration card, she worked as a cashier.

In October 1924, she moved to Munich and married Dr. Heinrich Eckstein, who practiced as a doctor in Munich and lived with him there. In the middle of the 1920s, their son Hans (John) was born. The Eckstein Family could emigrate to the United States in time. At the beginning of 1937, Gisela and her son Hans succeeded in leaving for New York where they were first welcomed by Gisela’s aunt Gretchen. Her husband Heinrich, who called himself Henry in the USA, seems to have followed them soon after. In 1940, the family lived in Brooklyn/ New York. Gisela Eckstein died there in March 1944 at the age of only 46 years. Her husband Henry died in February 1967.