Mrs. Mendes graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a degree in studio art. Shortly after graduation from Aquinas, she joined the Catholic Church. Mrs. Mendes lives in Midland with her husband and three children. They are parishioners at Saint Brigid in Midland and she sings in the choir. Mrs. Mendes worked on Mackinac Island for several seasons creating and selling her artwork at the Victorian Summer Gallery on Market Street and later became a teacher after teaching art to the homeschooling community, being a Barton tutor at Saint Brigid in Midland and raising her children (Marcelo 14, Gabriel 11, Annalisa 9).