Magda Remelgas was born in 1897 as the third child into the Remelgas family in the village of Anija in nowadays Estonia (then Russian Empire). Shortly after she had begun studying at a secondary school in Weisenberg, Germany, the First World War broke out. Magda Remelgas completed a Red Cross course and began treating wounded and sick soldiers in one of the largest field infirmaries in St. Petersburg. After four years of service, in 1917, during the Bolshevik Revolution, the infirmary was relocated in Chelyabinsk, Siberia.

After its liquidation by the Bolsheviks and a three-month internment, Magda Remelgas joined the Czechoslovak legions in June 1918 and began working in the first Czechoslovak infirmary. She was very popular among the wounded and sick Czechoslovak legionaries. Later she travelled all the way to Vladivostok with the Czechoslovak troops and then sailed around the world to finally arrive in Prague in October 1920. There she continued to treat patients in one of Prague hospitals and at the same time studied physical education at the Charles University.

After having completed her studies, she returned to Tallinn where her mother and brothers lived. There she worked as a physical education teacher at various Tallinn schools, but she was also a tireless organizer and promoter of sports and cultural life in Tallinn and worked closely with the Czechoslovak Embassy. Also, she often contributed to Czech and Estonian magazines by publishing remarkable articles about both countries. In 1932, she brought a group of Estonian gymnasts to a sports festival in Prague, and on this occasion, she also met the first President of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.

Magda Remelgas died unexpectedly in Pärnu in April 1935 as a result of hernia surgery. Her funeral in Tallinn took place on 10 April 1935 and Magda Remelgas was in memoriam decorated with the Order of the White Lion for her services to Czechoslovakia. Her friends in Prague fundraised for a bronze bust which was installed on their friend's grave. The bust was later restored by the Estonian War Museum and was displayed during the ceremony of the award.