Merle Frehner was born on July 20, 1905 in Littlefield, Arizona, the son of two Mormon settlers. In 1910, the Frehners moved to St. Thomas, Nevada. Along with his family, Merle Frehner drove freight teams and transported ore and other mining supplies. Frehner later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and started a Ford car dealership. Frehner married Beulah LaVon Conger in 1930 in Utah. Merle Frehner died on January 10, 1994, in Las Vegas.